The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new video from The Marquis. Originating in Montreal, The Marquis has played both sides of the Atlantic and has proven to be a force of EBM, industrial, punk, experimental and beyond. The video for SCAB is an amazing DIY production which finds the artist in top form, delivering vicious vocals backed by infectious rhythms within a haunting forest setting.
SCAB is out now and you can pick it up on Bandcamp.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Marina Aleksandra. “Animal Industrial Complex" (Radolph & Mortimer Remix) is a work of pure fire which came to fruition in September 2019 when Marina contributed a slamming techno remix to R&M’s Exclude/Divide single, a massive remix that was featured in DJ sets around the globe and helped propel the single to the top of the genre best sellers charts on Bandcamp. Now the favor has been returned. R&M have taken Marina’s epic Techno original and re-worked it into a high energy EBM/Electro thrasher - taking Marina’s provocative vocal and looping it over raw synths and huge kicks and snares. This is peak time business for all the shutdown dance floors in the pandemic age.
For the past couple years Aleksandra has been destroying clubs across Europe with her brvtalizing sound and high intensity DJ sets. This track proves once again why she has become one of our favorite artists to watch and you will definitely be hearing more from her on The Brvtalist.
Out tomorrow exclusively on Randolph & Mortimer’s Bandcamp.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new video from Ai fen x Buitenmens. “Algorithms” is a collaborative work born out of the Covid-19 quarantine. The Chinese-Polish artist/musician and Dutch composer and visual artist came together virtually to create this powerful piece exploring the melancholy, loneliness and struggle to maintain a sense of meaning under forced lockdown. At the same time, “Algorithms” turns an eye to the phenomenon of getting a friend request from someone you don’t know only to discover that you’ve actually been in close contact with them.
We've all had it happen to us: someone contacts us on social media that we don't know with a friend request. Sometimes if we have enough mutual friends, we just accept. Sometimes we ask: How do you know me?
When Buitenmens contacted Ai fen, that's exactly what she asked. Buitenmens replied that for weeks Facebook had been suggesting her as a friend, so he thought “why not?” and sent a friend request on a whim. After finding out they both were musicians, Buitenmens asked Ai fen if she would like to collaborate with him in ThuisLab’s open call for a Dutch artist to work with someone they had never met! On lockdown in Czechia, Ai fen readily agreed. The stipulations of the open call were that the project be completed within a week, so the deadline was much tighter than both artists were used to but perhaps exactly this lack of time allowed the track to crystallize. The collaboration started with Buitenmens sending a composition to Ai fen along with all of the individual samples. A few days later she sent something Buitenmens described as, “very different, much darker and scary.” Undaunted by the new turn his work had taken, Buitenmens responded with a few subtle tweaks and sent it back to Ai fen, who recorded the flute and vocals and prepared the mix while Buitenmens, also a video artist, made a beautiful visual for the track.
We are excited to present this unique work which combines elements of poetry, doom-laden pop, synth and experimental electronics. A piece that will no doubt resonate with many of us during this unprecedented time.
-JRS
Ai fen by Natalia Kuznestova
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Coqman & Dica. “X-Number” comes off part II of the massive v/a compilation celebrating two years of Fluctuat Records. The compilation represents the label’s connection with South America (originally beginning in Medellin) and brings over 40 artists from two continents released in four different parts. “X-Number” is an epic, acid laced banger which gives you a satisfying taste of this all star compilation that is worth of your attention.
Part II is out on April 30th and you can pre-order yours on Bandcamp.
-JRS
The past couple years have seen the steady emergence of Italian producer Maenad Veyl. From his early output on Death & Leisure to last years Body County LP on his namesake label, he has maintained a quiet yet powerful presence which is not confined to any genre or sound. The artist now returns to Veyl with an all new album, Reassessment. Building off his previous work, Reassessment is a monumental work of 13 tracks that traverses everything from wave, body, noise, techno and more and further sharpens the producer’s output. This a deeply personal work that is loaded with meaning and reframes how we perceive our surroundings. Today we are proud to present the track “Hardened Arteries” (one of our favorites from the album) and we also bring you a great interview with the artist talking about the album, quarantine and more. (see below)
The Brvtalist: You've been on a tear the last couple years. With a lot of great releases in 2018 and then 2019, which saw the release of your first LP, Body Count. What does Reassessment represent at this stage of your production career?
Maenad Veyl: Thank you Jeremy, for both the kind words and having me on here again.
It’s hard for me to zoom out and take a proper look, but the way I see it everything from ‘The Acceptance ov Not Knowing’ to ‘Body Count’ felt like part of one chapter that is now coming to an end with this record. In many ways ‘Reassessment’ is about an ending It’s hard for me to judge exactly what this means but I guess time will tell.
TB: How would you say your productions or approach is evolving?
MV: I’m not sure if this is a reflection of my productions in general but with Maenad Veyl I always wanted to keep things raw and honest. I think i’ve sharpened that blade a bit more on here... This record wasn’t even mastered, we just put it out as soon as it was ready.
TB: The record traverses a whole host of genres, tempos, arrangements and more. Talk about the importance of diversity in your work.
MV: Releasing ‘Body Count’ was quite a liberating experience as I didn’t expect it to be so well-received: it was the most unplanned music I’ve ever worked on. I wanted this record to expand on that feeling by digging into other important inspirations of mine, but it wasn’t done too purposefully. All the music that made the cut was very spontaneous, I’ve never really liked repeating myself.
TB: The title certainly could imply a lot. Are you referring to anything specific with "Reassessment"?
MV: I was inspired by some major shifts in my personal life after a minor health scare. It sounds cheesy but it made me re-evaluate a lot of people and things around me, hence the name. Post-COVID-19/economic collapse my problems now feel smaller, but the idea still stands.
TB: How has quarantine been for you? Has it inspired you in any way?
MV: Not musically. The uncertainty of these times plus seeing Milan so closely affected wasn’t particularly inspiring for writing. More than 100 people died in a nursing home across the street from my place, the whole situation made me feel numb for a while. During the first few days I tried to write down the backbone of an album/EP but I found it hard to focus on music, I wasn’t liking anything. In fact to be honest and I haven’t been listening to much either, and I’ve yet to a watch a single quarantine livestream. I’m lucky enough to have a lot of work right now and I’m spending most of my downtime with my girlfriend, infinitely re-organizing my studio or playing Final Fantasy VII.
TB: I think the whole world is reassessing a lot right now which makes the record even more timely. What are one or two changes would you like to see following the current global crisis?
MV: There’s a million bigger, more essential things that need to be reconsidered but for the scope of this interview I’ll hope this global fuck-up finally helps create a newer, better ecosystem for independent artists. There’s a lot of archaic systems still in place and they should have been eradicated a long time ago.
TB: What's coming up next/anything else you want to mention?
MV: I’m really excited about Veyl’s future as we’ve got a lot of amazing music from some of my favorite artists coming up. December, Jensen Interceptor, VTSS and Blind Delon are amongst some names we’re working on for 2020.
Reassessment is out May 11, 2020 as 2 x LP with poster. Get yours at: https://veyl.bandcamp.com/
-JRS
Maenad Veyl - Reassessment (Veyl, 2020)
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Darzack. “Unforseeable” comes off the blazing new EP, Slave to Love, out Thursday on Parisian imprint Maison Béryl. The French producer has been making waves as of late with his massive brand of hard driving techno that explodes through the speakers, devouring anything in its path. Started in 2018, Maison Béryl was born out of a collective of music enthusiasts and their releases are not confined to any genre or style. Slave to Love embodies this ethos and showcases Darzack’s musical abilities with an EP that expertly channels rave, electroclash and delivers melodic atmospheres and moods of violence, melancholy and beyond.
The EP is out April 30th and you can pick it up on the label’s Bandcmap.
-JRS
In response to the current events, experimental and ambient music label Etang Brulant made a public call to all artists who were interested to express their thoughts and feelings regarding the Covid-19 crisis. The goal behind this project is to donate all the collected money to Les Secours Populaire, a French charity fighting against poverty and exclusion.
Etang Brulant is a French Lebanese music label founded in 2018 by Lea Maria Moussali and Victor Pasqual. Initially they imagined an album of nineteen tracks by nineteen artists or groups from around the globe, but due to a huge number of propositions, the compilation was divided in to two parts of fifteen tracks each. One entitled Live Today and the other, Die Tomorrow.
For this occasion, we focus on the twelfth track of the album compilation by Dhakira, entitled “La possibilité d’un après” and the process of creation behind this piece. Dhakira is a multidisciplinary project composed of Sinan Varis and Amalia Jaulin, which focuses on themes such as memory, fragmentation and thinking patterns.
As we exchanged with Amalia (set and graphic designer), she explained that the pattern of this track was created based on her observations from the moment lockdown was announced and what it has led to until now. She broke down the events into several phases and schematized on paper her perception of the sound patterns they would deliver.
The first phase deals with the state of shock, the outburst of the news regarding the impact of the virus and Its chaotic consequences. Comes then the second phase which is manifested through a slowing-down with people staying home and putting on standby the hectic lives they are living, a form of respiration. Nevertheless, feelings of worry and tension build up to the next phase which is one of realization. This last phase obliges one to accept the idea that if humanity wants to survive, spiritual and natural lifestyles will have to be adopted.
With the given insight, the words ‘immersion of the listener’ are ones that come to mind and very well sum up the result the duo aims at reaching throughout their creations.
Based on this sound map, Sinan delivered his interpretation of Amalia’s vision thanks to his skills in sound design and Ableton, field recordings of the nature surrounding him during his confinement and very interestingly, the integration of voice recordings. The duo invited anyone who had the desire to record themselves and express their feelings regarding this epidemic. They asked people to speak in the language they wished in order to put an emphasis on the cruel fact that what we are undergoing is worldwide.
Dhakira gives a lot of importance to the “organic” dimension in the process of creation. One of the testimonies they had received dealt with a few hesitations but regardless of this “defect” if I may say, they chose to leave it as it is, consequently delivering a very honest and realistic output which grabs the listener. Through this process they succeed at conveying a story in the most immersive and possible manner in order to avoid binary outputs. This leads me to my last point: the chainsaw.
When they had finished the track, or had at least thought so, the following question occurred to them: “why should we end this beautifully?”. By challenging aesthetic and moral certainties, they expose the possibility of a disaster. The troubling feature of the chainsaw in the outro is the materialization of a door which could open, and which is more likely to open than one filled with hope. “La Possibilité d’un Après” is a retrospective of these past few weeks as well as the demonstration of a future that we hope to avoid.
If a full body and mind immersion is what you are looking for, this track and compilation is worthy of attention!
Live Today is out now and you can get yours at: https://etangbrulant.bandcamp.com/album/live-today
-Daisy Sous
original work by Dhakira
The Brvtalist is proud to present a mix from Unhealed. This set was recorded previously at the DARQ + SILVER/tape event series in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The live performer and DJ oscillates between EBM, wave, new beat and electro for a thrilling mix which will drag you into a dark universe.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new video from Joe Farr. “Avvior” comes off the artist’s upcoming release, Well Tempered, on Rebekah’s hard hitting Elements imprint. With big releases on labels like SOMA, S.L.A.M. and his own UX, Farr has proven he is at the top of the class with his with his signature high intensity techno and floor destroying prowess. The EP contains two originals (+ a digital bonus) and two remixes from Axel Picodot and Buried Secrets. Directed by Brvtalist favorite Malika Maria, the video is the perfect accompaniment to the track. A hypnotizing visual onslaught that refuses to let you look away.
Well Tempered is out April 24th on vinyl and digital. Pick yours up now on Bandcamp.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Ceili. “My Pet Goat Genesis” comes off the colorful new v/a compilation, Speed Bumps, curated by artist and collective head Ceili himself. The release traverses a multitude of sounds and genres from techno, IDM, industrial, breakbeat, hardcore and wavy noise. Featuring both emerging talents and established artists, Speed Bumps goes straight to the head with a rush of blazing material that disorients and satisfies in equal measure.
Out on tape and digital April 24th on Ceili Collective. Get yours here: https://ceilicollective.bandcamp.com/
-JRS
Track list
A1 Kalli - Sphericurve Cilindr - INTIMACY BETWEEN HARDCORE
A2 DJ Ketaflush - 221018RC - ROLLER DISCO ACID
A3 Ceili - My pet goat Genesis - JELLY BABY BREAKFAST
A4 Ramilitch - Synthetic Voice (Roma Zuckerman Liteworks mix) - PSYCHEDELIC RETREAT PAMPHLET
A5. OleKa - Nanodiamonds - LEADING SCIFI WHOLESALER
A6. Offtrack - LFO Clinic - BIGROOM MIXING AGENT
A7. Similarch - Leysdown Bloc (live edit) - EMOTION HINGED HARDCORE
A8. DJ Whipr Snipr & Jaundice - Angry Wallet - SCREAMING BANK MACHINE
B1. Tom Hang - EscapEscaEs - NOISEY PILE DRIVER
B2. DJ Emergency Disaster - Warehouse Definition - A.M GIN WORKOUT
B3. Oneyra- Metamorphosis - CUSTOMISED HEAT GUN
B4. Quelza - Area Oxena - HAUNTED MECHANICAL ARM
B5. DJ Fucku - Soviet Patrick - WALL OF NAILS
B6. Lam Singe - Trance Roving Kin - PUMP ACTION HAMMER
B7. Jon Hussey - Fembot Motion - HYPNO FROG LEGS
B8. Witch Trials - Tremors - FONDLE MY BREAKBEAT
