LCM_issue_01_Jan2020

ISSUE #1 

JAN 2021 

REVIEWS - INTERVIEWS - FLASHBACK - PLAYLISTS - GUESTS & OTHER 

MADMOIZEL 

DUCTAPE 

CHARLIE NIELAND 

CONVEX MODEL 

NEW NEON 

JONNY POLONSKY 

THE TELESCOPES 

SANG FROID 

CONVEX MODEL 

DUCTAPE 

CHARLIE NIELAND 

SANG FROID 

LUNAR SHADOW 

JOE STRUMMER 

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 / #1 Jan 2021 3 

EDITORIAL 

ABOUT US. 

Mike D with Kat Z created the LCM which is the official 

magazine of Loud Cities. All the names that you’ll be 

reading about have passed from the show (along with 

countless others), as Mike D has also presented them (all) 

in the online magazines that he partakes. Here we gather 

all these articles as published in these magazines, plus 

some exclusives as well as some pieces from the past. 

All work concerns the previous month from the 

publication of the current issue. Here you may find 

all the info, data, and the artists links, and here also 

is our monthly list with the songs that nailed us. 

Apart from all this, you may also find the links to 

the magazines where Mike D is part of their crew, 

and of course the link to the radio station where 

Loud Cities radio show goes live every Thursday. 

Kat Z designed LCM so that it reminds a bit of a printed 

magazine (we love the sound of pages while turning). 

Artists and readers and music freaks we want your 

feedback and we want you to contact us on the show’s 

email. Your opinion and comments are important to us. 

Keep it true with raw, elegant, alternative music. 

Your’s 

Loud Cities’ Crew 

https://soundcloud.com/mike-dimitriou 

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


CONTENTS 

REVIEWS 

SANG FROID - DEBUT S/T EP 

CONVEX MODEL - “HOLLOW INSIDE” 

DUCTAPE - “LABIRENT” LP 

CHARLIE NIELAND - “TIGHTROPE” 

THE TELESCOPES - “SONGS OF LOVE & REVOLUTION” LP 

INTERVIEWS 

MADMOIZEL 

JONNY POLONSKY 

p.6 

p.8 

p.10 

p.12 

p.14 

p.16 

p.24 

LOUD CITIES’ PLAYLIST 

JANUARY 2021 PLAYLIST p.30 

FLASHBACK 

NEW NEON INTERVIEW p.32 

GUESTS 

LUNAR SHADOW by CHRIS PAPADAKIS / FORGOTTEN SCROLL p.39 

movies & bands 

HELL W10: A Film Directed by JOE STRUMMER p.42

6 

Loud Cities Magazine / #1 Jan 2021 

REVIEW 

On January 8, 2021, this new entry 

post-punk trio let out their first 

cast of shadows with a brilliant 

debut S/T EP. Ladies and Gents, here 

is Sang Froid from the city of 

Nantes in France 

On January 8, 2021, this 

new entry post-punk trio 

let out their first cast of 

shadows with a brilliant 

debut S/T EP. Ladies and 

Gents, here is Sang Froid 

from the city of Nantes 

in France; comprised of 

TC (vocals), JJS (guitars, 

bass, synths), and 

Ben Notox (keyboards, 

programming), the gang 

managed to include in 

only three yet striking 

indeed songs, their 

whole sonic worldview. A 

debut little record that 

shines like a precious 

black marble from all 

angles. The official video 

of ‘Psalms Of The Great 

Void’ (track #1 of the 

record) was released a 

bit earlier, on January 

4, and besides that, I’d 

like you to focus on its 

lyrics (please), I openly 

challenge you to pump 

up your engines. 

Everything in here shouts 

a “morbid pureness”, 

from the creeping guitars 

to the narrative preacher 

on the microphone, and 

the rest of the battery 

with the guy on the bass 

who keeps all things 

tight and safe during the


route, Sang Froid (Cold 

Blood) gave me the best 

happy-post-punk-newyear, 

yes! 

SF plays with that delicious 

toxin as if they were an 

already established name 

in the scene. They sound 

so confident in all three 

songs of the record, they 

sound as if there is no 

tomorrow for them, as 

they also sound fearless 

with their music. The new 

generation of post-punkinternational 

is looking 

way ahead and beyond 

and through the old 

mountains of new wave 

music. I am excited, we 

will never fade away! 

Our friends from Nantes 

blend their music with 

the French-Style-Coldwave 

elements and with a 

good sense from the also 

gothic rock heritage they 

created one surprisingly 

amazing cocktail, it is 

that “toxin” I was telling 

you before: try ‘Oversee 

And Kill’, and then die 

with ‘Heavy Sleep Heavy 

Heart’, you’re gonna love 

it. Please welcome Sang 

Froid in the pitch and I 

hope they will amaze you 

too, they perform the 

void!!! 

...it is that “toxin” 

I was telling 

you before: try 

‘Oversee And 

Kill’, and then 

die with ‘Heavy 

Sleep Heavy 

Heart’, you’re 

gonna love it. 

Keep up with 

Sang Froid 

www.whitelight-whiteheat.com

8 


REVIEW 

CONVEX MODEL: 

“Hollow Inside” 

Convex Model is the new music project of 

Nick Kapantzakis (Human Puppets, Plexiglas, 

Dislocation Genders), using analogue equipment. 

Nick (synths/voice)/ Stawi (lyrics/visuals)/ Laura 

(synths)/ George (bass)/ Kyriakos (drums). 

The official video of “Hollow Inside” 

was published on January 7, 2021, and 

the song is taken from their latest album 

“Quantity Of Motion” via Kernkrach last 

March. 

Convex Model is an 

analog synth act from 

Thessaloniki-GR, and 

they are another amazing 

troupe from the celebrated 

Greek darkwave scene that 

has given us a number of 

amazing names in recent 

years. The official video of 

“Hollow Inside” was published 

on January 7, 2021, 

and the song is taken 

from their latest album 

“Quantity Of Motion” via 

Kernkrach last March. 

Convex Model is the new 

music project of Nick 

Kapantzakis (Human 

Puppets, Plexiglas, 

Dislocation Genders). 

Using analog equipment 

the full band comprises 

Nick (synths, vocals), 

Eleni Tzouna (synths), 

George Papadopoulos


...are revisiting 

Visage or the early 

Kirlian Camera 

adventures but 

more than this 

they refresh it all 

with later flashes 

from the Batcave 

artistic attitude 

and motion. 

(bass), Kyriakos Tsakalidis 

(drums), and Stawi Tsiara 

(lyrics and visuals). 

All things analog synthwave 

oriented 80s music 

is the core inside and the 

force behind this peculiar 

act. Convex Model 

are revisiting Visage or 

the early Kirlian Camera 

adventures but more than 

this they refresh it all 

with later flashes from the 

Batcave artistic attitude 

and motion. 

All you’ll hear in their 

music is a never-ending 

party with all the 

machines that they use to 

create their art. It is quite 

glorious and an interesting 

fact that Convex Model 

is not a retro-band, they 

don’t sit comfortably in 

any ready-made soundscapes 

but they dig hard 

for it, mostly to blend 

their music with the rest 

of their “research” in 

music generally. All this 

analogue-synthetic bundle 

they offer is clearly flirting 

with the darkwave, 

synthpunk occasionally, 

the new wave and they 

do it all within the best 

of the groove they can 

get to, and they do it all 

exemplary. 

This pretty nice official 

video of “Hollow Inside” is 

the best example of their 

music, and obviously, for 

what shall follow next by 

that very talented band 

from the North of GR. If 

you listen to the whole 

“Quantity Of Motion” LP 

you’ll get their point and 

you will understand that 

this band will surprise us 

in the future; I won’t be 

shocked at all if any of 

their upcoming releases 

will sound a bit different 

than that. All their seeds 

were sown in this album 

and I am curious about 

what’s at the back of their 

minds for the future! 

Keep up with 

Convex Model 


10 


REVIEW 

DUCTAPE “LABIRENT” LP, 

PLUS OFFICIAL VIDEOS AND MORE… 

“A gripping and extreme frequency of 

instrumentation blends with fierce female 

vocals and dramatic imagery to speak out 

against Domestic Violence.” 

It all started last June with 

Ductape from Istanbul when 

they released their debut 

“Little Monsters” EP, an 

amazing first offering by 

this ultra-talented and dedicated 

to the darkwave duo 

from Turkey. Then came 

the “Wooden Girl” single 

in November that made our 

own Catt Gillette write in 

WL//WH 

“A gripping and extreme 

frequency of instrumentation 

blends with fierce 

female vocals and dramatic 

imagery to speak out 

against Domestic Violence.” 

That specific storm by 

Ductape also happens to be 

the first single with an official 

video too off the band’s 

brand new “Labirent” (labyrinth) 

LP which was released 

on January 7, 2021, and 

again Catt Gillette nailed it 

“Disturbing lyrics are taken 

from the female point of 

view during the heat of 

a struggle, yielding both 

strength and surrender in a 

gut-wrenching dialogue of


pain.” 

This is Domestic Violence 

and Child Abuse in the 

lyrics of the song and 

in the whole video too; 

Close-Your-Killer-Eyes… 

Watch the video HERE 

Ductape are screaming out 

all things they hate, the 

contradictions, the inner 

chaos and the faced anger 

when confronting oneself, 

are shaping the general 

mood of the album. That’s 

why their whole sequence 

is a mainly intense coldwave 

music with a lot of 

spices that are taken from 

the darkwave matter, and 

all as usual in such cases 

orchestrated as sheer postpunk. 

That’s the most 

interesting element with 

Ductape which in addition 

to some of their tribal-Anatolian 

melodies (that are 

carefully placed-sometimes 

well hidden) makes it all 

an amazing experience to 

listen to. 

Fool of passion with what 

they are saying, full of 

passion with their art, these 

things are quickly and obviously 

understood when you 

first listen to them and some 

other names from Turkey’s 

current underground scene. 

“Hata” is track #5 and one 

of two songs in the album 

that is sung in their native 

language (the other one is 

“Tuzak” #6) and it is an 

imposing and query darkness 

on its invulnerable 

tempo all the way. 


A lot of amazing things 

are happening in ‘Labirent’ 

LP and I strongly recommend 

my own fave killer 

track “Rain” where I simply 

got out of my desk and 

started grooving with it 

for 4:00, yeah, turn it loud 

and hear what I mean! 

Listen to RAIN here 

‘Labirent’ LP is looking for 

a way out of this world of 

thoughts and chaos. The 

structure of it is from the 

team’s sole artistic statement 

on all the running 

things in life, you won’t 

listen for any fairies and 

their fairytales and you 

won’t revisit the good-olddays-of-post-punk 

thing. 

I am absolutely sure that 

you will discover (if you 

don’t know them already) 

an amazing and intriguing 

troupe that is singing 

for life ’till death!!! 

Ductape‘s ‘Labirent’ LP is 

also available on CD Edition 

via SwissDarkNights Label. 

Keep up with 

Ductape 

“Labirent” 

(labyrinth) LP 

was released on 

January 7, 2021, 


12 


REVIEW 

Charlie Nieland: 

‘Tightrope’ 

single 

NYC-based producer indie music veteran Charlie 

Nieland presents his new single ‘Tightrope’, an exciting 

new offering that brings him one step closer to the 

release of his new ‘Divisions’ LP. The brilliant accompanying 

video was directed by visionary B.A Miale. 

Charlie Nieland presents 

‘Tightrope’ single with mystifying 

video ahead of ‘Divisions’ LP 

“Tightrope was written in 

response to the novel ‘Little 

Liar’ by Julia Gray. Reading 

it brought out for me the 

similarities of wishing and 

lying, crossing our fingers 

for each, and how we can 

tumble down into our 

loneliness without seeing 

the color that surrounds 

us. The lyrics to the chorus, 

“The colors run together, The 

coins are thrown forever, 

An instrument of trust”, 

jumped out of the air for me 

and when I picked up the 

guitar, the music came just 

as instantly, like the song 

was waiting for me to find it. 

It really felt like a gift, with 

elements of classic British 

pop crisscrossed with 

post-punk and shoegaze; 

ELO meets Psychedelic 

Furs,” says Charlie Nieland. 

Video director B.A Miale’s 

interpretation elevates 

the song into a beautifully 

surreal tale that opens 

into a shimmering, slightly


nightmarish, wonderland. 

In terms of her inspiration 

for this video, she refers 

to Oscar Wilde: “We are 

all in hell, but some of us 

are looking at the stars” 

“The storyline was inspired 

by this intense year we 

are collectively experiencing, 

surrounded by 

death and heartache. Like 

the protagonist, some of 

us absolutely need our 

escapisms to remain sane, 

even if they render us 

delusional,” says B.A Miale. 

Both the song and the 

video feature Nieland’s 

Lusterlit bandmate Susan 

Hwang on Janggu, drum 

kit and vocals. The video 

stars international cabaret 

and circus performer Amy 

Gordon, whose last acting 

gig was playing a pigeon 

in the big apple circus 

until covid shut it down. 


This single comes on the 

trail of several previewed 

tracks, including ‘So Few 

Have So Much’,vvvvvv 

‘Pawns’ and ‘Divisions 

’ the video for which was 

created by Brooklyn-based 

video director Hypnodoll, 

presenting a beautifully 

layered glimpse at 

the what’s behind the 

illusion of separateness 

in this critical moment. 

Renowned for tastefully 

blending post punk, dream 

pop and progressive rock 

with sweeping melodies 

and restless and visceral 

rhythms, Charlie Nieland 

has been writing, playing 

and producing music for 

decades, with a focus 

on the atmospheric 

and the imaginative. 

Nieland played power dream 

pop with the band Her 

Vanished Grace for over 20 

years before establishing 

himself as a solo artist 

with a mix of nuanced 

songwriting and sonic 

exploration. He is currently 

half of the literature inspired 

songwriting and performing 

duo Lusterlit with Susan 

Hwang. 

Over the years, Charlie 

has written and produced 

material with such notable 

artists as Debbie Harry, 

Rufus Wainwright, Dead Leaf 

Echo, Blondie and Scissor 

Sisters. He scored the 

feature film ‘The Safety of 

Objects’ (starring Glenn 

Close), the pilot episode 

of ‘The L Word’ on Showtime 

and the VH-1documentary 

‘NY77: The Coolest 

Year in Hell’. Charlie was 

awarded a Gold record 

(UK) for his production work 

on Blondie’s ‘Greatest Hits 

Sight & Sound’ and achieved 

a Top 10 Billboard Dance 

Chart Position with Debbie 

Harry’s single ‘Two 

Times Blue’, which he 

co-wrote and produced. 

 

The ‘Divisions’ album is 

available now via Bandcamp. 

The full album by the same 

name will be released in 

March 2021. It can already 

be pre-ordered directly 

from the artist.Nieland 

played power dream pop 

with the band Her Vanished 

Grace for over 20 years 

before establishing himself 

as a solo artist with a mix 

of nuanced songwriting 

and sonic exploration. 

He is currently half of 

the literature inspired 

songwriting and performing 

duo Lusterlit with Susan 

Hwang. 

Keep up with 

Charlie Nieland 

https://www.noisejournal.com

14 


REVIEW 

THE TELESCOPES: 

“SONGS OF LOVE 

& REVOLUTION” 

Lawrie and his insistence 

on the vision of 

The Telescopes act. Also, 

Tapete Records proudly 

underlines 

‘This is the 12th album 

by The Telescopes, music 

for a four-piece ensemble 

that will never sound the 

same twice in any given 

environment or to any set 

of ears.’ 

I couldn’t agree more with 

all these people. 

This is the stunning new 

full-length album “Songs 

of Love And Revolution” by 

the celebrated ‘gaze outfit 

The Telescopes (UK), out 

on February 5, 2021, via 

Hamburg based independent 

label Tapete Records, 

and every time they 

release something new we 

must consider them once 

again; The Telescopes is 

not an ordinary rock band 

or anything else ordinary 

shoegaze. They have been 

described by the British 

music press as ‘more a 

revolution of the psyche 

than a revolution of the 

sidewalk’; a thread consistent 

throughout a body 

of work spanning over 30 

years. 

All of this is utterly true 

with respect to Stephen 

It is the restless heart 

of Lawrie and his mates 

who are responsible for 

this new kind of reshape 

the foundations of the 

scenery, and proof of it 

in the course of the band 

is their every new record. 

From the abstract field 

recordings’ use in their 

music to the wall of sound 

matter in the studio, The 

Telescopes steadily evolve 

and steadily reshape 

their sound, leading it all


towards and through new 

quests and explorations. 

Last year they released 

two monumental live 

albums, “Live At Spacefest 

Gdañsk, Poland,(2015)” – 

an album of high energy 

shoegaze for the fans of 

music in general, and 

“Live Sessions” that captured 

the moment of creation 

of the noise in two 

different studios with the 

band live in the studio – 

a release that addresses 

mainly the young with 

guitars and their ‘gaze 

boards and gear. This year 

they are releasing “Songs 

Of Love And Revolution” 

LP (February 5, 2021) and 

the first one to appear 

was “Strange Waves”, a 

song so cool and nice, 

and a song that can also 

easily confuse the new 

fans of the band as it is 

not the ‘appropriate’ track 

to get into the realms of 

the band. But which one 

from Lawrie’s endless 

quiver is the ‘appropriate’ 

for the introductions? 

Watch “Strange Waves” 

HERE 

And if you continue to 

“Mesmerized” it will all 

start taking shape, not 

the final one, but it is a 

good piece to the puzzle. 

The band plays shoegaze, 

yes, but with a lot 

of drone and psych and 

noise rock too, and with a 

keen on keeping that wall 

wet with effects and technique 

that only a handful 

of other ‘prophets’ dare. 

Listen “Mesmerised” HERE 

The Telescopes were 

always a bit out of the 

box from the shoegaze 

trend themselves, but 

funny and quite ‘sacred’ 

is when they are invited 

to the stages of the world 

(festivals, clubs, etc) as a 

titanic force of the genre 

and a band with the most 

respect by all. You see, 

they don’t offer shoegaze 

music like racing with 

the other fine shoegaze 

racers, no, they are constantly 

offering the origins 

of the technique with a 

long string of releases for 

30+ years now. And they 

are not a laidback pack 

of old wolves wandering 

around with their crowns, 

they don’t need that. The 

Telescopes will never give 

you the new paths of ‘gaze 

music but they always 

unveil their own mysticism 

with their attempts to 

going closer to the matter, 

and like in such cases, all 

origins are now new again; 

like smelling the soil for 

the first time, again. You 

wanna call it shoegaze, 

fine! You want it drone, it 

is too! You hear in it the 

noise-rock grooves, sure! 

Psychedelia, absolutely! 

Occasional tribal underlayers, 

you got it! You must 

be getting prepared for 

February 5. What, wanted 

me to review each track 

and explain what I heard? 

But this is impossible with 

The Telescopes, keep this 

from the top of the article 

“It is music for a fourpiece 

ensemble that will 

never sound the same 

twice in any given environment 

or to any set of 

ears”. 

Keep up with 

TELESCOPES 


16 


INTERVIEW 

“It Is Time To 

Stand Up For 

Your Rights” 

An Interview 

with 

Parisienne 

artist 

MADMOIZEL 

She is MADMOIZEL, an amazing 

artist from Paris who releases 

her music since 2008. I discovered 

her works about two 

years ago and she nailed me 

forever with her skills and 

her passion, not to mention 

the exceptional degree of 

innate musicality that is all 

over in her records. And she 

is an alternative figure who 

dwells mostly in the underground 

electronic scene of 

Paris and I wanted to talk 

with her about all things in 

her art as well as some other 

crucial things we ask artists. 

We talked about music, her 

past, present, and future. She 

gave me her comment on the 

pandemic situation in France 

and the related political decisions 

that made her angry, 

and she told me about her 

own adventure with Covid- 

19. We talked about her live 

gigs and the gear she uses. 

Photo by: Eric Chenal

We did a long interview 

that flows like a river and 

I must thank Mary McIntyre 

from TONN RECORDINGS 

who brought us in contact. 

Ladies and Gents, pour 

red wine in your glasses 

and tune in to our French 

guest, MADMOIZEL!!! 

I am very pragmatic. So, when your tools are 

not vintage you have to push the limit of the 

machines and to make the set up your own. 

Hello Madmoizel and 

welcome to WL//WH. I saw 

your name in the showcase 

compilation ‘Fast Forward’ 

by Tonn Recordings, with 

the track “Mystery”. Let’s 

go straight to the news; 

what is this track? What 

are we expecting from you 

in 2021? 

Hello dear Mike! Thank 

you for your focus on 

MADMOIZEL. 

“Mystery”, which ends the 

last compilation of TONN 

Recordings, is a special 

song inspired by the lyrics 

which are both directly 

taken from words said by 

a friend of mine and also 

reflecting what I had to go 

through at a certain period 

of life. 

About 2021, different 

projects are in progress, 

others are almost finished. 

But as I am superstitious, 

I prefer not talking 

about things before they 

are 100% achieved. No 

doubt about my continuous 

musical work and I 

can say that new things 

Photo by: Major Kata – Rockstar Photographers 

are coming: releases, collaborations, 

remixes…and 

I would love so much to 

announce live show…maybe 

end of 2021! Let’s hope! 

Listen to “Fast Forward” 

compilation HERE 

In June 2020 I also saw your 

name in the ‘Intersection 

III’ compilation via the 

same label where you put 

your hands on “La Noche” 

from Colombian artist David 

Pinilla, confess please… 

I have a special affection 

for David P. A stylish 

smoker with a huge and 

refined musical culture. 

Its debut album on TONN 

has everything I love. A 

raw modular sound which 

reminds me also the one 

of Nova Guardia, a brilliant 

artist on TONN too. The 

perfect sound for underground 

live-acts. Watch a 

video live of them both 

and you will understand. 

The evening I uploaded the 

album of David I immediately 

had a crush on “La 

Noche”. So when TONN 

suggested to participate 

to a “Covers” compilation 

I could not resist to choose 

that song - even if covering 

a track you love is a 

real challenge…but “challenges” 

stimulate me. So, 

I decided to slow down the 

tempo, to bring the feminine 

and sultry touch. 

I also was inspired by

18 


Astor Piazzola who Grace 

Jones used in ‘I’ve seen 

that face before’ and tried 

to stay as close as possible 

to the original piece. 

I actually moved the raw 

modular & minimal darkness 

into a melancholic & 

cinematographic pop song. 

I was happy with the result 

and delighted that David 

and Mary loved it too. 

Listen “La Noche” cover by 

MADMOIZEL HERE 

You have also uploaded on 

your YouTube channel one 

outlandish and amazing 

cover you made for the 

anthemic “Bela Lugosi’s 

Dead” of the mythic band 

Bauhaus, and it is a live 

footage from Les Nautes, 

Paris, back in 2016. What 

led you to twist that specific 

song from Bauhaus? 

What happened during that 

night at Les Nautes, Paris? 

I played at Les Nautes 

for the first time with my 

label mate Judith Juillerat. 

We were invited by our 

label “Lentonia Records” 

which was supported by 

the art contemporaneous 

program of the Galeries 

Lafayette called “Lafayette 

Anticipation”. Then I 

have been booked there 

again, and during the live 

I covered Bauhaus. Why 

Bauhaus? Why Bela Lugosi’s 

dead? Bauhaus is a remarkable 

band in all senses to 

my eyes. We all have in 

mind the images of “The 

Hunger”. Peter Murphy 

widly interpreting Bela 

Lugosi, David Bowie and 

Catherine Deneuve wearing 

sublime sunglasses and 

outfits in search of prey. 

This movie scene describes 

exactly how intense is the 

song and the live performance 

in that goth 

night club. I have tried to 

keep this dark intensity 

in my live performance. 

Watch “Bella Lugosi’s dead” 

by MADMOIZEL HERE 

You have self-released 

your first two albums 

(‘Dame De France’-2010, 

Lady Dandy’-2013), then 

‘The Love Machinery’-2016 

via Lentonia Records, and 

since 2018 you interact 

with Tonn Recordings (‘Play 

Bizarre’ LP, etc). What is 

intriguing you with that 

specific label from Belfast? 

You forgot to mention 

“Ilusion” released in 

2019 on the prestigious 

record label “Objetrouvé” 

founded by my very good 

friends Stéphane Argillet 

and Coco Gallo – the 

duet of Peine Perdue. 

In 2018, my 4th album 

was mixed and recorded by 

Achim Dreßler (with who 

I work for 10 years now) 

and I was looking for a 

©Laetiti


a Bica 

new label. My web inquiries 

drove me to TONN. The 

visual first catched me. 

Its clean cut and minimal 

design associated to the 

city of Belfast plus a Lady 

as owner of the label 

intrigued me immediately. 

As I read on TONN’s facebook 

wall that was not possible 

for the label to add 

a new artist on its catalogue 

I didn’t contact Mary 

McIntyre. But coincidently, 

two days after, she bought 

my album “Lady Dandy” 

on my bandcamp. As I use 

to send a private message 

to each of my supporters, 

we started to exchange 

together and of course 

it fit. Then we released 

the album “Play Bizarre” 

on September 2018; then 

Iv/An and I re-visited one 

of our respective tracks on 

the mini album “DUAL”, I 

also did three remixes 

( Misfortunes, Crystalline 

Stricture, Vogue.Noir) , 

a cover (David P.), two 

singles (Control, Mystery), 

a TONN Liveworks, a TONN 

Danceworks, two portraits 

by Chad Alexander and 

Christopher Martin and I 

played in Belfast twice. So 

much achieved in less than 

two years and a half. We 

can say that MADMOIZEL 

and TONN Recordings have 

been determinated professional 

partners. 

I just couldn’t ignore asking 

you about your appearance 

in Tonn Liveworks at 

The Mac Belfast in 2019, 

what is this 30-minute live 

performance? 

Two days before I left the 

city of Belfast, on March 

3rd 2019, a video captation 

was planned at the 

MAC. A collaboration with 

the choreographer Vasiliki 

Stasinaki who I met after 

my live show with This the 

Bridge at the Black Box end 

of February. When Mary 

suggested a collaboration 

with the choreographer, 

Vasiliki and I immediatly 

decided to work on the 

live version of “Repetitive” 

which sounded as a “contemporary-synth”. 

We 

recorded it without any 

rehearsal. Vasiliki and I 

are professional and use 

to perform on stage so 

everything was magically 

synchronized and it gave 

the TONN Danceworks you 

can watch on TONN youtube 

channel. The performance 

was done so quickly that 

we had time for doing 

more. Vasiliki left the room 

and Mary asked me to play 

one song. She removed the 

grey curtain for the black 

one. A stark aesthetic and 

atmosphere came from 

those “Black Curtains” and 

perfectly fit with my silhouette 

and my minimal 

set up. Instead of playing 

one song I decided to play 

the full live as if I was on

20 


stage. I played without 

any interruption during 30 

minutes, in only one take 

with Mary and Paul Marshall 

in the room. It gave the 

first TONN Liveworks. It is 

for me the most beautiful 

piece of TONN Recordings & 

MADMOIZEL’s collaboration. 

Watch TONN Liveworks 

with MADMOIZEL HERE 

Watch TONN Danceworks 

IV with MADMOIZEL HERE 

Now let’s go way back and 

I’d like to ask who are 

you? Who is Madmoizel? 

What led you to the electronic 

music crafts? Where 

are you artistically emerging 

from?.....and if possible, 

where are you heading 

to through your music? 

Luckily I was born in a 

family passionated by 

music and art in general. I 

listened a lot of classical 

and neo-classical music. I 

also have been marked by 

David Bowie more by its 

theatrical representation 

than by its performances. 

At 6 years old I started to 

play the piano. Music had, 

and still has, an emotional 

depth to the point I crystallized 

all my feelings 

on and built both my own 

freedom and also my solitude. 

I was very young when 

I knew that Music will be 

the companion of my life. 

After decades of listening, 

experimentations, compositions 

with the piano, 

after playing with bands as 

bass player, guitar player 

and also synth-machines 

player I have decided to 

work alone under the name 

of: MADMOIZEL in 2007. The 

electronic set-up was the 

key of playing on stage. 

In terms of electronic references 

I loved more the 

british sound of New Order, 

Bronski Beat, Art of Noise… 

than the german ones 

(even if I also listened to 

the classics). The germans 

came later. 

So MADMOIZEL is the result 

of a contemporary synth 

sound mixed with lyricism 

and neo classical references 

plus a theatrical 

touch. I often say that I 

try to play the music of my 

own. Actually I don’t care 

of being part of a specific 

scene and I think this is 

why I have been booked 

on so many different kind 

of events. The most important 

in life is to do want 

we want. 

Which one from your 

albums is in that very 

special place in your heart, 

and why, please? 

“Lady Dandy” is probably 

the key of what MADMOIZEL 

became and still is. 

Associated to the sound 

of the album, the strong 

visual, a portrait of Vincent 

Malléa, impacted the audience 

and brought me to 

the light of the underground 

scene very fast. I 

was booked all over Europe 

and never stopped to play 

live since then. I suddenly 

shared the stage with Anne 

Clark, Kas Product, Peine 

Perdue…in Underground 

venues, Queer / Goth festival, 

Fashion & Museums 

opening in Berlin, Brussels, 

Amsterdam, Madrid, Paris, 

London, Manchester, 

Belfast… It was crazy and it 

galvanized me. Plus “Lady 

Dandy” is an auto-production, 

a kind of reward after 

so many years of intense 

work. But each of my albums 

is a personal process. 

Listen to “Lady Dandy” LP 

HERE 

What equipment and paraphernalia 

you put your 

hands on when you perform 

live? 

I have bought my equipment 

with the idea to be 

able to travel all over 

Europe, to play on stage 

as often as possible. So 

it needed to be easy to 

carry and to package, and 

to have a very basic technical 

rider to “seduce” the 

bookers. So I bought the 

first series of Electribes. 

I first adapted my music 

to the machines and then 

I adapted my machines 

to my music. I work with


the old Electribes EM1, I 

plug my microphone in 

the Electribes ES1 to synchronize 

in midi all the 

effects. I also use the 

first Kaoss Pad version 

which is an effect controller 

where my synthesizer 

in plugged. It allows me 

to do samples and loops 

in live, to reduce and to 

open the musical space, 

and to make the sound 

of my horrible synth a bit 

better. I actually bought a 

very cheap and bad synth 

but at least it is very light 

to carry, with 5 octavia and 

a joystick I use a lot. I am 

very pragmatic. So, when 

your tools are not vintage 

you have to push the limit 

of the machines and to 

make the set up your own. 

boy – Bronsky Beat 

5. Let’s go crazy – Purple 

Rain / Prince (even if 

“Under the Cherry moon” 

is the album of Prince I 

love the most) 

What has the global pandemic 

of covid offered 

to you? Any inspiration 

to protest your current 

views through music? 

Any collaborations or interplay 

with other artists? 

You know, I got the covid 5 

days after the first French 

lockdown and it was not 

a comfortable situation 

for me, living alone in 20 

m2 in Paris without seeing 

any of my friends. It took 

me 2 months to recover 

my health. I could neither 

rehearsal, nor jog (which 

is very important for my 

Watch “I won’t be yours” 

live HERE 

What is the current top-5 

in your stereo and why, 

please? 

It is so difficult to answer. 

Let’s say: 

1. Le Gibet - Piano Works / 

Maurice Ravel (interpreted 

by Dominique Merlet) 

2. It’s no game (part one) – 

Scary Monsters / David Bowie 

3. Chanson Einer Dame im 

Schatten – Michael Nyman 

& Ute Lemper / Celan Songs 

4. Hit that perfect beat 

©Laetitia Bica

22 


psychological balance). 

So I have tried to work on 

musical project with up 

and down. I did my best 

and achieved few works 

but I didn’t like this period. 

I was lost. 

Music clubs, live stages, art 

workers, we are all being 

ignored in this pandemic 

and the truth is that we 

can’t do many things about 

it, or can we? What measures 

and actions would 

you take if you were the 

Minister of Culture? 

If I was a bit terrified at 

the very start of the pandemic, 

I then felt angry 

about French political decisions. 

So much incompetence 

without mentioning 

the scandalous use of 

the fear and terror and 

repressive rules to make 

us blind. This anger has 

never left me. It inspired 

me a song titled “Culture 

19” which will be part of 

a compilation on a label 

from Milano which will be 

released soon. The lyrics 

are: “Wear the mask, shut 

up, no mouth, do not 

breath, do not talk, do 

not think anymore” And I 

say “I wanna be part of 

the underground Culture” 

in reference to the Stooges 

saying “I wanna be your 

dog” but in that case we 

are the dog full of rage. 

I actually protest against 

the cultural censorship. I 

want to be a resistant and 

if I were the Minister of 

Culture I can tell you that 

I would have never closed 

the museum, theatre, 

cinema because I would 

have a 100% trust in their 

curators and directors. 

Seriously, who really want 

to have its venue closed? 

Who? Excepting a political 

decision? The loss of money 

impacts so much the business, 

that all the curators, 

directors have a very 

secure, responsible attitude. 

What the fuck is happening 

in the world today? 

The virus exists - ok , it is 

contagious - ok , hospitals 

are full – ok (because of 

past restrictives political 

decisions) but life is stronger 

than the covid area. So 

come on!! Wake up !! Let’s 

go crazy, let’ s get nuts!!! 

It is time “to stand up for 

our rights”! 

Madmoizel, thank you very 

much for taking the time to 

talk to WL//WH, last words 

on you! 

Thank you very much 

Mike for interviewing me. 

After 4 decades of musical 

research, and more than a 

decade of stage, releases, 

collaboration…I know now 

my career is for love for 

music indeed but also for 

love for people. Today I 

miss so much to meet and 

hug friends, audience, 

bookers, technicians… I 

really hope we will kick 

the ass of our politicians 

to make it possible again. 

Art is resistance


Pablo Picasso - 1921 - The Three Musicians 

Three Musicians emphasizes lively colors, angular shapes, and flat patterns. 

Picasso said he was delighted when “Gertrude Stein joyfully announced... 

that she had at last understood what... the three musicians was meant to 

be. It was a still life!” 

source: pablopicasso.org

24 


INTERVIEW 

All The Lights 

Shine with 

Jonny Polonsky: 

An Interview 

Noise Journal is so impressed 

with the progress of mankind, 

every day we applaud 

humanity’s merciless march 

toward its gloomy decadence. 

What, want more on that? Just 

look at what’s going on in the 

international scene and you’ll 

get one hell of a great glorious 

picture… 

Last year (March 4, 2020) 

we published our review on 

the last ‘Kingdom Of Sleep’ 

LP by Brooklyn based musician 

Jonny Polonski. Over 

his storied and dynamic 

career as a solo artist, Jonny 

Polonsky has released six 

fulllength records over 23 

years. From early on, he 

has impressed upon many 

music luminaries. His DIY 

demos led to support from 

Reeves Gabrels (David 

Bowie, Tin Machine), Marc 

Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis 

Costello), Zander Schloss

I love the lyrics of Marc Bolan, Jimi Hendrix, 

Nick Cave--people who feel deeply and give you 

something to dream about. 

(Joe Strummer, Circle Jerks) 

and John Zorn. The latter 

invited him to play CBGB’s 

Gallery for the New Jewish 

Music Festival with his band 

featuring Marc Ribot on 

guitar, Sebastian Steinberg 

(Soul Coughing) on bass, 

and Sim Cain (Rollins Band) 

on drums. Reeves Gabrels‘ 

introduction led to Frank 

Black support, representation 

by Pixies manager 

Ken Goes, and Frank Black 

producing a demo recording, 

which led iconic record 

producer Rick Rubin to 

sign Polonsky to American 

Recordings. 

Polonsky has also performed 

on albums by Johnny 

Cash, Neil Diamond, Tom 

Morello (Rage Against The 

Machine), Pete Yorn, Dixie 

Chicks, Minnie Driver, and 

Donovan. I wanted to talk 

with this man and stars 

aligned to that a few days 

ago. Today we present you 

an Interview with Jonny 

Polonski, all you have to 

do is sit comfortably and 

enjoy it! 

Hello Jonny - Thank you 

for taking the time out to 

speak with us today. What 

is on today’s agenda for 

you? 

At the moment I need to eat 

lunch. Some people would 

probably call it dinner, but 

I got started late today.

You are based in New York 

but are originally from 

Chicago - is that correct? 

Do you maintain connections 

to your hometown? 

I was born in Chicago and 

raised in Wilmette, IL, a few 

miles north of the city, on 

the lake. It’s also where Bill 

Murray is from. Most everyone 

I came up with ending 

up moving to LA, where I 

lived for almost 16 years. 

I live in Brooklyn now, as 

of 2018, but I’m moving 

back to Chicago in January. 

I love New York, but it’s too 

expensive. 

Please tell us about the 

two albums you released in 

2020, “Kingdom of Sleep,” 

“Power and Greed and 

Money and Sex and Death,” 

and the remix collaborations 

with Alain Johannes 

and Jim Sclavunos that 

also were released this 

year. 

I recorded Kingdom of 

Sleep on my laptop at 

home in the summer of 

2019. The songs have 

a very dreamy, underworld 

kind of feel to 

them. I find a lot of 

them introspective and 

romantic, with large 

dashes of sci-fi thrown 

into the sounds and 

some of the words. I 

love the lyrics of Marc 

Bolan, Jimi Hendrix, 

Nick Cave--people who 

feel deeply and give you 

something to dream about. 

I played all of the instruments 

on it except for a 

couple songs—Sign in the 

Window has Matt Hankle 

on drums and Katie Burden 

on bass. That was the 

last band I had before 

moving to NY. And Matt 

Walker played drums on 

You Turn Me On. We grew 

up together in Wilmette. 

He’s played with Smashing 

Pumpkins, Garbage, 

and has been with 

Morrissey for years now. 

And Cedric Bixler-Zavala 

did a spoken word thing 

on Ghost Like Soul. He and 

I are friends from LA. I 

played in his band Zavalaz 

for a little while, and we 

recorded a bunch of his 

songs, that never came out. 

I sent Jim Sclavunos a copy 

of the record because he 

hosts a radio show, and I 

am a huge fan of the Bad 

Seeds and Grinderman. I 

asked if he would remix 

one of the tracks and 

he said yes, easy peasy. 

Alain Johannes and I knew 

each other when I lived in LA. 

He also recorded Mark 

Lanegan’s vocal when 

Mark guested on my 

Fresh Flesh album from 

a couple years ago. 

When I asked Alain to do a 

remix, he was into it but he 

was living in an air Bnb in 

Chile at the time, and had 

been pretty ill as well. But 

he pulled it off beautifully 

in true MacGuyver fashion, 

I thought. 

Kingdom of Sleep came 

out the week of lockdown. 

Once everything shut down, 

I started writing a bunch 

of new songs and ended 

up making a record. That 

turned into Power and Greed 

and Money and Sex and 

Death, which was released 

just after the election. 

I played all the instruments 

but I got Jane Wiedlin from 

the Go-Gos to sing on one 

song, and Hong Wang to 

play the erhu, a really 

beautiful Chinese stringed 

instrument. He plays on 

all the Kung Fu Panda 

soundtracks. Jane I met 

through Instagram, we just

started messaging and hit 

it off. Hong was a friend of 

a friend of a friend. 

These songs are a lot more 

high energy than Kingdom 

of Sleep, though there are 

a few beautiful, dreamy 

tunes on it as well. I was 

listening to a lot of Wipers, 

the classic punk band from 

Portland, and I think that 

helped me be a bit more 

energetic and direct with 

these songs. 

Can you tell us a bit about 

your latest few videos, 

which are quite attractive 

and cinematic? 

Kingdom of Sleep videos: 

Ghost Like Soul was filmed 

at the little theatre above 

Metro, an awesome rock 

club and longtime Chicago 

scene hub, down the block 

from Wrigley Field. The 

little theatre is rarely 

used and has an amazing, 

decrepit glamour to it, like 

something out of a David 

Lynch film. There is an 

actual ghost who lives in 

the theatre, as legend has 

it, but unfortunately we 

had no paranormal activity 

while we were there. 

Sign In the Window was 

shot driving the streets 

of Chicago, and prancing 

around in the freezing cold. 

Both videos were very fun to 

make, but this one was definitely 

more of a challenge— 

trying to lip synch while 

your teeth are chattering is 

a skill I hadn’t previously 

thought about acquiring. 

There are bigger problems 

in the world, but hey.... 

Paul Elledge directed both 

videos. He is an old friend 

from Chicago, we’ve been 

working together for 25 

years on album covers, 

photos, videos. He is better 

known as an incredible and 

legendary photographer, 

but he is a brilliant video 

director as well. 

Power and Greed and Money 

and Sex and Death videos: 

I directed the video for In 

Between Worlds. I found 

all the news footage and 

came up with the general 

concept of me “delivering 

the news” on a CNNtype 

station. Joseph Patrick 

Conroy filmed and edited 

it. He did a great job. I 

found him on upwork.com 

and lucked out. 

Completely Surrounded by 

Love was directed by Julia 

Sinelnikova. I just googled 

video directors in Brooklyn, 

she was on the first page, 

and I really liked some of 

the video installations she 

had done. Again, totally 

lucked out and she did an 

awesome job; she directed, 

filmed and edited the video. 

I really like it, it’s like a 

Love and Rockets video or 

something. 

There’s a lyric video for 

Summer Soldiers, the song 

Jane Wiedlin sang on, and 

also a short commercial 

promo video for the album 

that I directed. Again, found 

a guy on upwork--Aleksandar 

Melov--, he lives somewhere 

in the Ukraine and 

did great job with both. The 

internet man..... 

I’m a child of the 80’s, 

I grew up on MTV. I love 

music videos. They’re really 

fun to make, I wanna do 

more. They’re just expensive 

to make properly. 

You also toured for many 

years with a whole array of 

first-tier artists and worked 

with many other top-notch 

acts, including Johnny Cash. 

Can you tell us about these 

experiences? 

I never toured with Johnny 

Cash, I played on his last 

two records, American V and

protests, and all of the 

endless madness happening 

in the world. Some of 

those topics seeped into 

the new songs. But I can 

only talk about what I see 

and how I feel about things. 

I’m not good at proselytizing 

or shoving any kind of 

a message down people’s 

throats. 

VI. It was all overdubbed 

after he had died. We were 

all together in the basement 

of Rick Rubin’s home 

studio in Hollywood playing 

along to Johnny’s voice. We 

being Mike Campbell and 

Benmont Tench of Tom Petty 

and the Heartbreakers, 

Smokey Hormel of Tom 

Waits and Beck, and Matt 

Sweeney, who’s played in 

Zwan and in Iggy Pop’s 

band with Josh Homme. 

It was a surreal and 

amazing experience. I grew 

up listening to and loving 

Johnny Cash, so it was 

incredibly cool to play on 

about 60 songs of his (they 

only released about 25 of 

the songs we recorded). 

Getting back to your question, 

I do love touring and 

performing live. I really 

enjoy playing in other people’s 

bands, and I would do 

it again if it came up, but I 

really love making my own 

music, that feels the most 

gratifying. 

How has the past 9 

months of Covid-influenced 

limitations affected you 

and your music? 

The first month or so, I was 

as freaked out as anyone. 

It felt dangerous just to 

leave the house, you didn’t 

know if you were going to 

be exposed to some life 

threatening contagion. I 

just started writing and 

recording, and that’s how 

this most recent record 

came together. I did notice 

the creative process was 

way slower for me than 

usual. Things that normally 

might take a couple days 

took a few weeks, stuff 

like that. Just the stress of 

what was happening in the 

world, with Covid, the election, 

all the crazy incidents 

and protests in the summer. 

Like many people I was 

deeply affected by the BLM 

Anyway, I forced myself to 

thrive under the lockdown 

limitations. I definitely 

took plenty of time to 

watch movies and napand 

all that kind of stuff, but I 

gave myself a project and 

forced myself to work on 

it. Work can help you avoid 

feelings of despair and 

helplessness, especially if 

you love what you do. 

You toured Europe right 

before the whole pandemic 

went into overdrive and 

lockdowns were imposed 

across the globe. What do 

you love and miss about 

touring and performing 

live? 

I love performing live and 

especially love touring. I 

just really enjoy meeting 

new people and being 

exposed to new cities and 

cultures and ways of living. 

It’s very inspiring to meet 

and engage with so many 

different people, it’s just 

a good way to have an 

adventure. Playing music 

for people is the best. It 

makes me really happy.

Europe was awesome. I 

was only there for two 

weeks but I played all over 

Belgium, went on national 

radio a few times, went to 

Amsterdam and Germany 

too. The guy who put the 

tour together is a Belgian 

reality tv celeb, Otto-Jan 

Ham. He hired a film crew 

to follow me around and 

make a documentary. It 

will be released in January 

2021. 

What lays ahead for Jonny 

Polonsky to the end of 2020 

and beyond? 

Jonny Polonsky 

In Between Worlds 

Completely Surrounded by Love 

Summer Soldiers (feat. Jane Wiedlin) 

Power and Greed and Money and Sex 

and DeathWiedlin) 

Ghost Like Soul 

(feat. Cedric Bixler-Zavala) 

Sign in the Window 

The Weeping Souls 

(Alain Johannes remix) 

You Turn Me On (Jim Sclavunos 

remix) 

2021 is the 25th anniversary 

of the release of my 

first record, Hi My Name 

is Jonny. I printed up a 

limited amount of LPs, it’s 

the first time on vinyl. It 

should come out sometime 

in the spring, around May 

I think. Other than that, 

make another record! 

Power and Greed 

Thanks again for chatting 

and we wish you continued 

success and interesting 

music adventures. 

Kingdom of Sleep 

Thank you! I appreciate the 

support. Stay safe everybody!! 

Special thanks to 

Shameless Promotion PR for 

arranging this interview. 

Keep up with 

Jonny Polonsky 

https://www.noisejournal.com

30 


LOUD CITIES’ PLAYLIST 

The Secret French 

Postcards 

Front Line 

Assembly 

Paradox Obscur 

Kiss Away 

1 

Arbeit 

2 

Not of This World 

3 

Painted Romans 

L.A. WITCH 

Closed Mouth 

The Cold Delight 

4 

Motorcycle Boy 

5 

Today 

6 

VV & The Void 

Magic Wands 

RAMONES 

Scarlet Dome 

7 

Angel Dust 

8 

It's Alive: Live At 

The Rainbow 

Theatre 2LP 

9 

Tindersticks 

Living in 

an instant 

Nero Kane 

Man alone 

(can’t stop the 

fadin’) 

10 

Screensaver 

1 

† Mechthild 

12 

Dead Astronauts 

Half Light II 

(No Celebration) 

Marva Von Theo 

Missing Person 

13 

Arcade Fire 

14 

Love 

15


Giallo 

(The Pleasures 

of the night) 

DEAD 

ASTROPILOTS 

16 

THE MIDNIGHT 

COMPUTERS 

Soft Science 

SUCCUBUS Diverging 

17 

18 

The Tide 

Moonshine 

Booze 

19 

Treat Yourself 

PAINTED 

ROMANS 

20 

Sylac 

Code Yourself 

Into Oblivion 

21 

Loony Voices 

Lorem ipsum 

Bleib Modern 

22 

In the Gold 

Mine 

Velvet Kills 

BLIND DELON 

23 

EDOUARD 24 

Tender Tones 

Bootblacks 

In Dreamed 

Lives 

25 

Traveling Light 

2 

Cold 

6 

NNHMN 

Eyes 

27 

GIVE UP TO 

FAILURE 

Tombstones 

In Their Eyes 

Pilgrims of 

Yearning 

Slow Collapse 

28 

Silhouette 

29 

Haven 

30

32 


FLASHBACK 

“We Push 

Boundaries”: 

An Interview 

With 

New Neon 

In 2018, I had a chance to sit 

down with the New Neon and 

am excited to share our chat. 

We talked about art, music, 

style, DIY, their upcoming 

release, the future, and the 

Fashionista movie they were 

involved in. 

New Neon’s uplifting electronic 

music got my interest 

at once when I accidentally 

discovered them about 

3 years ago. 

The Austin duo of Jade Vanity 

and Roger Wilson (DJ Freakq) 

play a blend of sexy discosynthetic 

electro bliss that’s 

groovy and artistic. You may 

discover their musings on 

their Bandcamp page where 

you can sample their sonic 

manifesto. 

Stereo Embers Magazine: 

Hello New Neon, please introduce 

the band to our readers! 

New Neon: Hello! We are Jade 

Vanity & DJ Freakq (Roger 

Wilson). We started the band 

before we were married way 

back in 2009. Jade was an 

exotic dancer at the time 

Roger was… and still is a 

club DJ. For us, New Neon 

has never been just about 

making music. It’s about life. 

It’s about an escape from 

life. It’s about beauty, pain, 

fantasy, love & pure nonsense. 

We don’t like rules. 

Everything we do is about 

energy & emotion. We have 

fun and we believe you can 

be whatever you want to be.

We are in love & we feel 

just like everyone else, we 

want to do what we want 

to do and we want everyone 

to have fun with us. 

When we say BREAK THE RULES we are talking 

about any and all ‘rules’ that are artificially 

imposed by other people or institutions on you 

that don’t share your vision for success or life. 

SEM: If I didn’t know you 

are located in Austin, 

I would honestly bet 

that you come from LA. 

You play a sharp, uplifting 

sort of avant-garde 

melodic techno, blended 

and pushed by the streams 

of electro (EBM oriented) 

machine-music. 

NN: Thank you! We agree 

that our sound and look is 

not what you would expect 

from Austin, Texas. Jade is 

originally from California 

and she has a very free 

spirit and experimental 

nature that is more like a 

west-coast thing. Roger is 

a Texas boy who became 

absorbed in the 80s nightclub 

scene of Austin 

which was very progressive-minded 

at that time. 

Together, we both share a 

love also of New York City 

and we lived in Brooklyn 

in 2013 & 2014. Roger was 

DJing in nightclubs and bars 

in Manhattan and Brooklyn 

and we also produced a lot 

of music during that time. 

I guess all of these influences 

came together to 

make us who we are now.

34 


SEM: Tell us few things about 

the inspiration behind your 

lyrics. 

NN: We throw out any need 

to write from one style…we 

love drama! Spoken words… 

rap style and singing all 

merge in to one chaotic 

fantasy for us. Sometimes 

we are very dark. Sometimes 

we are positive and uplifting. 

Sometimes we are dirty. 

Every song is a new story… 

the overall theme would be 

PASSION and DRAMA! 

SEM: A few things on the 

Fashionista movie–how did 

you get involved? Are we 

expecting New Neon to write 

more music for cinema in 

the future, like maybe an 

original score? 

working with the owners 

of Bandcamp to find new 

music from Austin bands 

to support his new film 

‘Fashionista’ which coincidentally 

was filmed 

in Austin. The film is 

about weakness and addictions 

that drive people 

into bizarre and dangerous 

places. It was a perfect 

match for our song. The 

rest is history (as they say) 

and now we have the satisfaction 

of knowing that 

our song found its home 

on the movie screen. As for 

future work writing music 

for film, yes! We are connected 

with another director 

Mark Bristol who makes 

music videos for us and we 

hope to continue our music 

& film union in the future. 

SEM: A bird whistled that 

you are working on a new 

album in 2018… 

NN: Oh yes! We are building 

a brand new album project 

called ‘Maximus’. It will be 

artistic, bold and unafraid. 

Just the way we like it. Plus 

we have several new collabs 

with other artists like Scyia 

and Nouvelle Culture, plus 

remixes and some other 

goodies to fill out this year! 

SEM: Live shows? Are you 

working on a tour maybe? 

NN: Yes also! We’ve started 

rehearsals and hope to tour 

in early 2019 once Maximus 

is ready! 

NN: What a crazy story that 

was! We just moved back 

from Brooklyn to Austin and 

we were processing all the 

experiences and emotions 

from that journey. We noticed 

how so many people we meet 

seemed to be missing something…no 

matter how much 

money or things that they 

had. Everyone has some sort 

of need or addiction and 

thus the lyrics for our song 

‘The Program’ were born. It 

became a hard-driving song 

about things that control 

you. After we published 

the track on Bandcamp, it 

was found by the amazing 

film director and visionary 

Simon Rumley who was


SEM: On your FB page you 

note “BREAK THE RULES- 

BREAK THE SYSTEM”–tell me 

your point of view on the 

music industry. Do bands 

like New Neon need major 

labels? Is DIY the present 

and the future of the music 

commerce? 

NN: Wow! That is a very big 

question lol! Let’s try to 

answer it in the best way…. 

When we say BREAK THE 

RULES we are talking about 

any and all ‘rules’ that are 

artificially imposed by other 

people or institutions on 

you that don’t share your 

vision for success or life. 

Also, it’s not just about us… 

it strongly applies to any 

artificially imposed limitations 

that anyone feels have 

When we 

say BREAK THE 

SYSTEM we are 

talking about 

many things but at 

the top of the list 

is breaking down 

the rampant out of 

control ‘commercialization’ 

that 

dominates every 

facet of life now. 

been applied to their personal 

life situation. Just 

because someone tells you 

that you can’t do something 

shouldn’t stop you. 

We are in this whole life 

thing together and we want 

every single person to be 

happy and successful. 

Don’t ever accept someone 

else’s rules no matter 

how much pressure you 

are under. We love everyone 

and we believe in the 

future. When we say BREAK 

THE SYSTEM we are talking 

about many things but at 

the top of the list is breaking 

down the rampant out 

of control ‘commercialization’ 

that dominates every 

facet of life now. We are 

doing this (with your help) 

by adding all of our physical, 

financial and creative 

energy to helping 

create a strong alternative 

culture within the entertainment 

world. As we see 

it… ‘Alternative’ culture, 

music, art, fashion, etc. 

Has slowly been swamped 

by big business, money and 

modern definitions of what 

is commercially viable. A 

strong, diverse Alternative 

culture where more people 

seek out and support new 

forms of entertainment that 

aren’t watered down for 

mass consumption is our 

goal. It’s big, it’s ambitious 

and there are a lot hard 

working people, bands, 

djs, promoters, writers & 

venues plus many others

36 


who working hard right 

now to make that happen. 

We need real support, 

real purchases, and a real 

belief that together we can 

break the system. DIY is the 

current state of the underground 

for sure… but there 

is still something missing. 

People don’t spend money 

on music anymore and that 

limits how far independent 

music can grow. 

SEM: What is inspiring you 

both in making music? 

Other arts you are keen 

on and you draw inspiration 

from? 

NN: We both share a massive 

passion for music of the 

70s & 80s. Jade idolizes 

Debbie Harry, disco and the 

new romantic bands like 

Duran Duran… but her taste 

in underground electronic 

music is very real also. 

Roger is into everything 

Brian Eno and Devo plus 

a very large dose of darkwave 

and techno/house on 

vinyl. We both love photography 

& video and make 

collage art when we have 

some spare time. We would 

love to make some physical 

art for sale one day. 

SEM: Analog, digital, or 

a combination of both? 

What’s your way of enhancing 

your music? 

convenience and speed of 

digital technology. We manually 

edit sounds and externally 

process some instruments/effects 

to give our 

work a more contrasted 

and raw feel… if that makes 

sense? We are very open to 

any and all construction. 

Software and hard synths 

are combined but our new 

album will be mainly digital. 

SEM: Can you give us please 

a few names that you are 

currently listening to? 

NN: Jade has been into local 

rap artist Bryanna plus 

digging deep into YouTube 

videos for Apollonia 6, Roni 

Griffith & Madonna. Roger 

has been into early 2000’s 

vinyl artist like Tiga, 

Polygamy Boys, Xlover, Adult 

plus 80s minimal wave. 

SEM: Thank you New Neon– 

any last thoughts? 

NN: Thank you! We are very 

happy to be interviewed and 

we hope that your readers 

find us interesting and like 

our sounds! We truly appreciate 

any and all fans and 

friends! Peace 

Keep up with 

New Neon 

NN: We love the analog 

sound but we need the


www.stereoempersmagazine.com

MONDAY 

20:00-21:00 

Chris P. 

Prog, Dark, Metal 

22:00-00:00 

Elizium Radio Show 

Goerge Wk-Sk 

Dark, Gothic, Metal 

TUESDAY 

16:00-18:00 

Out of Place and Time - 

John DoReMi 

Oldies, Classic Rock 

18:00-20:00 

Underground Sounds - 

Arucard 

Greek Rock, HipHop, Metal 

21:00-22:00 

Go Go Disco Mercury 

Nasos K. 

80s, Disco, SynthPop 

WEDNESDAY 

20:00-21:00 

Chris P. 


21:00-22:00 

Techno for the Headstrong 

Nasos K. 

90s, Techno 

22:00-00:00 

The Blackout Radio Show - 

Mike Pougounas 

Dark, Post Punk 

THURSDAY 

16:00-18:00 

Out of Place and Time - 

John DoReMi 

Oldies, Classic Rock 

21:00-22:00 

Reflections 

Nicoleta Sarantou 

Dark, Gothic, Metal 

22:00-00:00 

Loud Cities radio show 

Mike D. 

Post-punk, Darkwave 

Shoegaze, Electro 

FRIDAY 

18:00-20:00 

Into Darkness 

Arucard 

EBM, Industrial, Gothic 

20:00-21:00 

Chris P. 


21:00-22:00 

Sette Note In Nero 

Lampros Alkahest 

Soundtracks, Prog, Metal 

22:00-00:00 

Wired Soundscapes - GxT 

SynthPop, EBM, Industrial 

SATURDAY 

22:00-23:00 

Electric Gigolo 

The Crypt - Melita Scabeau 

SynthPop, RetroWave, Horror 

SUNDAY 

21:00-23:00 

Traveler Soul - LoveCraft 

Greek Rock, Punk, HipHop 

23:00-01:00 

The Sulfur Inside - Dr. D. 

Horror, Black Metal, Interviews 

Listen & Chat: mercury-radio.net 

Mixcloud: mixcloud.com/mercurycloud/ 

All times: EET / EEST


GUESTS 

LUNAR SHADOW 

Wish to Leave 

kind of expression would often 

bring to the foreground the 

creator’s personal questions, 

fears and explorations, offering 

a wide spot to the listener 

to be a part of the journey. 

Our Guest is Chris 

Papadakis , owner of 

Mercury Radio .net, 

and Forgotten Scroll 

Fanzine, with a 

sharp view on Lunar 

Shadow’s “Wish Tp 

Leave” LP 

LUNAR SHADOW from Germany was 

always a special case of a band for 

me. If I have to answer the “Give 

me a band based on a clear artistic 

vision” question, their name 

would come into my mind without 

any second thought. From the very 

first days of the “Trumphator” EP, 

it was clear that this band has 

something very special to offer. 

Song by song, release by release the 

founder, guitarist and songwriter 

Max Birbaum is exploring the 

realms of artistic expression 

through his music. From the 

darkness into light and back, this 

Sonic trademarks were always 

a very important element on 

the overall artistic vision of the 

band: Influences from a variety 

of musical genres, combined 

together into songs that would 

eventually be blessed by a wide 

musical range. Classic Heavy 

Metal and in particular this 

very specific complex version 

of NWOBHM would be the basic 

starting point on the band’s 

music, such elements would 

often brought to the foreground 

under epic formulas and sonic 

aesthetics and in particular 

point the Black Metal elements 

would offer their mystical force 

on the correct parts. There is 

still room for even more musical 

elements from the Post Punk, 

Darkwave and Gothic Rock 

musical universe, a place that 

would offer Max this silent, dark 

warmth that would be easily 

transformed to pure inspiration. 

Well keep in your mind all those 

sonic trademarks. We shall come 

through them during the journey

40 


on the latest album’s dimension. 

Here I got to mention a very 

important fact: Birbaum decided 

to end all LUNAR SHADOW’s live 

show activities after their nowpostponed 

2020 appearance at 

Germany’s Party.San Open Air. 

In practical terms this decision 

results to a band mainly focused 

on the creative part of the whole 

thing. No rehearsals for live 

shows probably means more 

free time for creativity. Who 

knows? In symbolic terms and 

if we bring into our minds the 

new album’s title, this decision 

-no more live shows- could be 

another step forward to the 

new chapter of Lunar Saga: a 

chapter more esoteric that finds 

Birbaum as a lone wolf sharing 

his musical vision through the 

LUNAR SHADOW vessel. This 

chapter is called: “Wish to Leave”. 

Questions are generated even 

after a simple reading of the 

album title. Leave? From what? 

We have to hear the music very 

carefully if we want to even try to 

give some answers. So let’s move 

back to the already mentioned 

sonic trademarks for a while. 

Well I have already pointed that 

the Darkwave, Post Punk and 

Gothic Rock musical universe 

was always an important feature 

of LUNAR SHADOW’s sound. Well 

on the band’s third full length 

album ( let me please repeat the 

title: “Wish to Leave”, thanks) 

those elements are brought into 

the foreground, becoming the 

main basis of the compositions 

included in here, but that does not 

mean that the rest of the Lunar 

sonic trademarks are not present. 

I do not know if this is done 

on purpose but Birbaum 

is re-exploring the musical 

connection between the 

Darkwave and the NWOBHM 

guitar formulas, a connection 

that is simply there in existence 

even from the late 70s: Both the 

above genres are having common 

roots on the Punk Rock globe, 

so musically is not that difficult 

to combine their aesthetics 

on a single song. Fortunately 

Birbaum is talented enough to 

generate little masterpieces and 

not just songs that combine 

different guitar formulas. 

Yes I can also hear many Post 

Punk elements in here and they 

have to do mainly with the 

minimalistic approach that is 

often clear enough on the new 

songs. This has mainly to do with 

the orchestration of the material, 

and let me please tell you that 

“minimal” does not mean 

“poor”. Melodies and instrument 

parts -for example extra guitarsare 

combined together under 

the “into the point” logic: What 

is needed for every song part, 

have been put on the correct 

place. A solid and many times 

cold sonic wall is the result. 

I can even hear many 70s 

elements on the new material. 

Listen carefully to the all the 

lead parts on the “To Dusk and 

I Love You” track which is based 

on a main hypnotic theme like 

the ones you would discover 

on the most obscure Darkwave 

and NWOBHM bands of the past. 

I know that the word NWOBHM 

sound like magic to you. So listen 

carefully to many of the lead 

parts AND the many of the riffs 

on the “Delomelanicon” track, 

you will discover a little NWOBHM 

heaven which is growing under 

an almost coldwave basis. Such 

combination can be noticed under 

an even more straight forward 

approaching on the second “I will 

Loose You” song. “And Silence 

Screamed” pretty much follows 

a similar direction: Dark, straight 

forward and electrified. 

Watch LUNAR SHADOW’s 

“Serpents Die” HERE 

One of my favorite tracks in here 

is the “Serpents Die” opener. You 

can hear its dark and melodic 

intro theme -many Gothic Rock 

bands would love to have a main 

guitar theme like the one on this 

particular intro- which is actually 

combined with some 70s inspired 

lead parts. To tell you the truth the 

intro of the “The Time Of No Time 

Evermore” album by the mighty 

THE DEVIL’S BLOOD came into my 

mind when I first hear this one. 

Ok but where are the Epic 

and the Black Metal parts 

we love on LUNAR SHADOW’s 

sound? I hear you asking. 

Wait until you hear the 10 

minute long opus “The Darkness 

Between The Stars”. Everything is 

there. And in my opinion this is 

the best track of thealbum and 

one of the best songs that the


Max Birbaum has ever composed. 

You may now ask about the 

lyrics. Well it could be obvious 

that the lyrics reflect Birbaum’s 

world. But as a listener I would 

like to point how this whole 

album reflected to me and what 

kind of pictures and atmosphores 

were genereted in my mind 

after listenings and listenings: 

The album offers a strange kind 

of “Big City escapism”. Here we 

are not dealing with mystical or 

dark fantasy concepts (a world 

that was explored in deep on 

the previous Lunar albums), at 

least not in the album’s entierty. 

There is something else in here: 

It is our wide prison -the Big 

City- firstly revisited through the 

cold melodies of the songs and 

secondly through the lyrics. It is 

the long distance night walks, 

when parts of the cty become 

stranger -letting us discover 

signs that are hidden by the 

daylight and yes this point could 

be in a way the mystical part of 

the whole isntalment but this 

depends to each and everyone 

of you-. It is the night hours on 

the same room with candles 

and Vodka where the same 

questions come into the mind 

again and again. The reasons 

of such questioning could be 

many and Birbaum in particular 

brings into the foreground the 

love, the friendship and the 

complexity of relationships 

as subjects in questioning. 

You can bring your own… 

Well here it is folks. The new 

LUNAR SHADOW album. The 

six songs found herein are 

interwoven with melody and 

darkness. There is a greater 

emphasis on vocals as well as 

the rhythmic aspects of LUNAR 

SHADOW, who are completed by 

vocalist Robert Röttig, second 

guitarist K. Hamacher, bassist S. 

Hamacher and drummer J. Zehner. 

“Wish to Leave” was recorded from 

July to November 2020 in Leipzig 

under the careful eye of engineer 

/ producer Max Herrmann; V. 

Santura of DARK FORTRESS and 

TRYPTIKON fame mastered the 

album. The sound is fantastic. 

To cut a long story sort the album 

is a masterpiece. Grab it as soon 

as possible and dive in its dark 

world. You will never regret it. 

As far as the questions that 

have been set in the review’s 

beginning: Leave? From what? 

– It’s better to give your own 

answers don’t you think? All an 

all when we leave something 

behind we are marching forward 

for something new, that is the 

only sure thing, or maybe not. 

Keep up with 

LUNAR SHADOW 

Label: 

Cruz Del Sur Music 

Released Year: 

2021 

Type: 

Full-length 

Tracklist: 

1. Serpents Die 

2. Delomelanicon 

3. I Will Lose You 

4. To Dusk and I 

Love You 

5. And Silence 

Screamed 

6. The Darkness 

Between the Stars 

www.forgotten-scroll.net

42 


movies & bands 

by Kat Z 

HELL W10: 

A Film 

Directed by 

Joe Strummer 

Almost 40 years ago, in 

1983, the members of 

The Clash and the band’s 

closest friends found 

themselves filming a 

movie entirely directed, 

conceived and paid for by 

Joe Strummer. “Hell W10” 

was filmed in the freezing 

cold of Ladbroke Grove, 

and it was a personal 

project of Joe Strummer. 

The Clash Star in Rare, Long-Lost 

1980′s Gangster Parody ‘Hell W10’ 

This silent movie, shot in 

black & white and featured 

band members, roadcrew 

and friends. A tale 

of drugs and gangsters in 

West London, it was filmed 

when The Clash were supposed 

to be on a break inbetween 

touring. 

If you read behind the 

lines you will understand


“Hell W10” was 

filmed in the 

freezing cold of 

Ladbroke Grove, 

and it was a 

personal project of 

Joe Strummer. 

that this is not a film of 

cops-and-robbers plot but 

a very smart caricature of 

the true life-roles of all 

the members of the band. 

The most interesting about 

this “not very professional” 

film is the music. 

The soundtrack consists 

of actual excellent Clash 

songs that set the correct 

atmosphere and mood of 

the viewer. 

‘Em Boyo”, “Overpowered 

by Funk (Instrumental)”, 

“The Call Up”, “Red Angel 

Dragnet (Instrumental)”, 

“Jimmy Jazz”, “Mensforth 

Hill”, “Junkie Slip”, “Time 

Is Tight”, “Armagideon 

Time”, “Listen”, “The 

Equaliser”, “Police on My 

Back”, “One More Dub” 

and “Rock the Casbah 

(Instrumental). 

Without any further 

comments we present you 

the movie of Joe Strummer 

HELL W10. 

Watch it HERE 

Listen to the soundtrack 

HERE (at least the tracks I 

found). 

The soundtrack includes 

in order “Version City”, 

Rudie Can’t Fail”, 

“First Night Back in 

London (Instrumental)”, 

“Know Your Rights 

(Instrumental)”, “Long 

Time Jerk (Instrumental)”, 

“Cool Confusion 

(Instrumental)”, “Ghetto 

Defendant (Instrumental)”, 

“Junco Version 

(Instrumental)”, “Atom Tam 

(Instrumental)”, “Silicone 

on Sapphire”, “Wrong

LCM_issue_01_Jan2020

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