New Brvtalism No. 277 - Ivan Zoloto

The Brvtalist is proud to present a new mix from Ivan Zoloto. The Karelian-born, Barcelona-based producer has been active across multiple genres and roles for years, including running Russia’s Full of Nothing (2010–2018), playing drums in the drone band Petrozavodsk and used to be one half dark electronica band Love Cult. He has also performed at prestigious events such as Sonar, Flow Festival and CTM, as well as collaboration with Vincent Moon. Most recently he launched his own label School of the Arts, which saw the release of his own Pleasure Prison, which shows his love of drone and soviet electronics. His mix for us today furthers that aim and is a powerful journey through industrial, electronic experimentations and more.

-JRS

Track list:

Cataclyst - The Gawds are still at Karnak I [Tantric Harmonies / Zhelezobeton]

Narcosonic - Rising Up [Unreleased]

Ivan Zoloto - Thinking of You (feat. Li Huihui) [CANT]

Merzbow / Prurient - Part I: City Barbarism Melancholy [Hospital Productions]

Robert Turman - Soft Self Portrait [Chondritic Sound]

Ivan Zoloto - Voice Message (feat. LSS) / Elevator Scene [School of the Arts]

Microcorps - ABII (feat. Astrud Steehouder) [Alter]

Maëror Tri - Take My Hope In Fertile Fields [Tantric Harmonies]

Shredded Nerve - Godless Final Hour [Chondritic Sound]

Mattias Gustafsson - Piece For Piano & 2 Sony TC-270 [Hästen & Korset]

Hypnoz - Rise [Zhelezobeton]

Aleister Blake - Cyber Fame, Real Pain (Clan Destine) Video Premiere

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new video from Aleister Blake. “Cyber Fame, Real Pain” is the title track off the debut release from the new project of French producer Tim Gainet, who is also known for his work as IV Horsemen and in Poison Point. Aleister Blake marks a new, more devious direction of shattering industrial rhythms and evil vocals which pull us deep into the project’s pitch black world. The video today is a perfect visual representation of the brvtal Aleister Blake ritual.

The release is out April 23rd on digital + cassette and you can pick yours up on Clan Destine Records.

-JRS

Asymmetrical - Kriminal (Raw Culture) Video Premiere + Q&A

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new video from Asymmetrical. The Rome-based producer and all around handyman returns to his home imprint for a new 12”, Blind Faith, that also marks 5 years of Raw Culture Records. A long way from the label’s humble beginnings of home made Sony tapes, Raw Culture has continued morph into a home for mutant EBM, electro, wave, techno and more, all with an underlying raw sound. For the fifth anniversary, Asymmetical steps up with a killer EP that crosses all the lines, pushes the boundaries and forgets genre with mega tracks of elctro-body-shock therapy. Today we premiere the mesmerizing video for “Kriminal” and to mark the anniversary we also have a Q&A with the artist and label owner. (see below)

Blind Faith is out April 25th and you can get yours on BANDCAMP.

-JRS

The Brvtalist: Tell us how you're feeling about Raw Culture turning 5 years old?

Asymmetrical: I feel pretty incredible to tell the truth. Raw Culture was born as a DIY Label, and in many aspects wants to stay that way, but if I think that from those first 30 Sony cassettes that we home recorded we slowly got to press 300 records (even with labels and printed covers, rich stuff!) I am quite satisfied.

Beyond the mere talk of numbers I am especially satisfied with the different relationships woven in these five years with many people between artists, other labels, promoters, distributors, record stores and simple supporters, as they the real satisfaction, the true lifeblood of all this.

TB: Do you think running an independent label has become easier or harder over the last 5 years?

A: It's absolutely not easier. At the beginning I thought there was a lot more fertile ground and a lot more enthusiasm (consider the record sales boom of 2017) and even media and press agencies were much more open and interested. Over the years I have seen much more of the scene breaking off into sects. However, channels like Bandcamp allow labels to create a stable community and trigger direct relationships with your fanbase.

An increasing role, especially in this time when physical digging is not possible, are played by Social Networks. I’ve re-evaluated Instagram enough times already. One of the few things that have changed for the better I think is the timing of the pressing plant. It's much faster but that's maybe also due to decrease in demand. Printing and above all selling 300 records in 2021 has become more difficult than 2017, even for labels much bigger and older than ours. The interesting challenge of 2021, also because of the Covid Pandemic, from my point of view, is to understand how to get the music to as many people as possible, without losing your identity.

TB: How has Raw Culture evolved since the first release?

A: First off, we don't record Sony tapes anymore at home haha! We evolved so much because we have given space to a lot of genres and types of releases and artists. Our evolution is also the evolution of many of the artists who work with us, some of them in a quite stable way, who maybe propose their side projects and so on. We're always open to amplify their voices.

On the other hand we didn’t evolve so much because we always focus on raw sonorities. In general we are continuously experimenting and trying to improve ourselves, to improve our distribution and all aspects of the label, to bring to the listeners the music we like, in some way, to make culture.

TB: Tell us about the Asymmetrical release and "Blind Faith" the dark, savagely comic novel that inspired it.

A: Blind Faith is a book I accidentally stumbled upon while reading another book for college and immediately fell in love with it. I like the sci-fi genre especially when it comes to the impact that media and technology in general have on society and on everyday life. Blind Faith gave me some interesting ideas that I tried to translate in sound. In general, it wants to be a critique of post-capitalist society, of the unrestrained exploitation of our planet, of the continuous loss of privacy dictated by the rotten system of exploitation and appearance in which we live.

All tracks were all recorded between January and March 2020, at FAUNA53, in Rome, and edited during the first lockdown in my hometown. From there began a journey with Linkin Bios, to try to communicate visually the concept of the album. They worked super hard on the design of the vinyl record in order to make visible the feelings inspired Blind Faith.

TB: How is your mood at the moment with everything? Feeling more hopeful about the music and nightlife industry or not at all?

A: At first it was quite difficult because for me the club is a constant source of inspiration. I took advantage of this and stopped looking for other sources of inspiration, to dig more around music but also in other forms of art. As a label we have changed our line of releases, we are trying to interpret in our own way the times, the absence of the club, trying to do research, propose something more stimulating and at home listening stuff.

Honestly I’m not very satisfied about how things are moving to the nightlife industry. I’m a bit skeptical about the actual validity of these digital events that are born as mushrooms, children of the Boiler Room culture. I see this effort to reproduce the pre-Covid experience in an identical but digital way as absurd. To think of a return to normality is foolish. To think about the club in its original value and its dynamics is what should be done, but without much philosophy, but in a natural and organic way.

TB: What's coming up next / anything else you want to mention.

A: We have a lot of plans for our “Several Future” as always. As I have already said we have for now more club oriented releases on standby but we have in our basement a lot of interesting stuff ready. Our next release will be an EP by Nostalgie Eternelle scheduled for early June. We have scheduled in September our first reissue: we will bring to light the work of an Italian post-industrial group and its work carried out between 1983 and 1986, some never published before.

From Sassano, that’s all for now.

PREMIERE + Q&A: FadeFace - Variation two (Lemos)

The Brvtalist is pleased to premier a new track from FadeFace. The New York producer and DJ is set to launch his new EP, Artifacts, on his own Lemos imprint. The release is contains three originals plus one remix from heavy hitter Thomas Hessler. For this EP, the artist traverses a multitude of atmospheres, ethereal synths and heavy kicks for some excellent techno experimentations that find their way at home in many situations.

Artifacts is out April 29th on vinyl and digital and you can get yours on Bandcamp. I’ve known Otavio (FadeFace) for some time now and glad to present this great Q&A where we discuss the release, New York and beyond. (see below)

-JRS

The Brvtalist: Artifacts is the fourth release on Lemos. How do you think the label has evolved since the first release?

FadeFace: Well first off I’d like to say thank you so much for having me. It really is a pleasure and love all that you guys have been doing. In the beginning of 2020, I had already been making a ton of new music that I wanted to share with everyone. Then the pandemic hit and it was a perfect opportunity for me to sit down, think about what it was I wanted to express and to put out the music. The label and I have grown exponentially since the start of the pandemic. Lemos, at first was a digital label meant only to be a platform for my own creative expression but now I'm slowly getting more and more collaborators involved in the making of not just the music, but also the artwork. I’ve also learned a whole lot about what it takes to run a label and to release a piece of art. I had no idea all the work that went into pressing and promoting a record as well as all the expenses that went into it. It's been a healthy learning process.

TB: Tell us about recording Artifacts. What inspired the record and talk about any themes involved and also the remixer, Thomas Hessler.

FF: Recording this EP was so much fun and very quick as well. I think I recorded the whole entire EP over a weekend. I actually started with the making of variation two and due to there being only about 4 to 5 elements to it, It allowed me to actually record a live jam of me performing the song. The rest of the EP was recorded similarly but with more editing in post with the multi-track in ableton afterwards.

The inspiration for the record came from my experience at the club. Usually when I go out, a particularly favorite part of my night is often times closing. Picture this, maybe the party has been going on for the past day and the DJ who is playing is closing with maybe 10 hours left before the night is over. There’s a lot of space on the dance floor, and only the people who will be there until the end remain there. No talking. Everyone is just in their own trance. The DJ begins to play this type of Minimal Techno with lots of movement and drones. That's where the theme and inspiration came from for this record. I wanted to make an EP for that exact moment in time.

As for Thomas, I’ve been a fan of his since the release of his record Eclipse. We met when we played together at Basement NYC along with Oliver Ho. I was so happy to find that Thomas was not only a phenomenal Dj and Producer but as well as one of the sweetest people I have ever met. He is a really nice guy and we spend the whole night hanging out after our sets. We quickly became good friends and I asked him if he’d like to be a part of this record with me. With no hesitation, he was on board and as they say the rest is history.

TB: How has your creative process been during the pandemic? Did you have a surge of creativity or maybe not?

FF: This is a really interesting question. I say this because for me and I'm sure many other Dj/Producers in the techno scene(and just artists in general) have been struggling with this. As artists in this scene we gather inspiration from the often time, frantic parties we are in. The way the people dress, dance, party and the way the venue looks and feels with the lights and loud sound system is where a lot of our inspiration comes from. You might be making one type of music but maybe you experience a different type of techno and party that you never had seen or heard before and now that experience is a heavy influence on your sound going forward. Right now this is not a source in which artists can gather this type of inspiration from, so we have to look elsewhere for that. Which also means our sounds will develop and change, and for me is always a good thing. I find myself making less hard techno these days due to the fact that I'm not constantly bombarded with it every weekend and Instead I've been making more groovy, hypnotic techno, almost sci-fi sounding. I have had a huge surge of creativity, mostly coming from all the time I’ve been spending in the studio. There’s literally nothing to do in New York right now so all I’ve been doing is experimenting with different ways of approaching my sound design and music making.

TB: What's the mood like now in New York with vaccines rolling and more life coming back?

FF: There seems to be a lot of hope going into the spring and summer. Right now I’d say that mostly everyone I know is on the same page with getting their vaccines so we can go back to normal life here in the city. However, I’d like to not get my hopes up. They are talking about possibly lifting some regulations going into the summer and maybe even the possibility of doing parties as long as you have your vaccine passport. Fingers crossed we can dance again this summer.

TB: What's coming up next for you/anything else you want to mention?

FF: At the moment I think I’m just focused on the label and getting more releases out when I can. The next record will be a treat and I'm hoping to be able to announce that very soon. Apart from that I have some releases scheduled to come out later this year on other labels as well a live modular live set I recorded with my friends from The Vine Sessions which will be out on Youtube later this month.

New Brvtalism No. 275 - Vendex

The Brvtalist is proud to present a new mix from Vendex. Influenced by the literature of Dante Alighieri in his work the Divine Comedy, as well as everything related to history, Vendex comes with the intention of creating a path to an inner journey wrapped in dark melodies, blunt and sharp bass that defy the natural , reaching supernatural sounds that touch or even reach what would be the sound of the underworld. Generating sounds that guide the Dantesque idea of a trip in the underworld with the aim of reaching paradise. All this through a forceful and enveloping sound, this creating a path to the nine levels of hell, purgatory and finally reaching paradise.

For this milestone mix the artist delivers a massive journey into the depths of his sound.

-JRS

PREMIERE: Terence Fixmer - Turning into Dust (SOIL12)

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Terence Fixmer. The iconic French artist delivers the killer track "Turning Into Dust" on the Spanish label Soil Records. Valley of Tears Vol. 3 also features tracks from top-notch artists Arnaud Rebotini, David Carretta and Kovyazin D.

Out April 22nd on digital format + vinyl. Pre-order here now.

We also did a short Q&A with Soil Records label boss Ian Broch aka SOJ and graphic artist Greta Haga. Read more below.

-Melanie Havens

The Brvtalist: Can you give us an introduction about Soil Records? What is the label’s philosophy?

Ian: Soil Records is a label focused on vinyl and cassette editions; we equal art and music as a concept.

The Brvtalist: Tell us about Soil’s visual concept.

Greta Haga: Sharp and bold elements expressing animalistic nature and sonic experience and energy within. We are looking for dirty textures combined with mixed media, photography and printmaking. Figurative elements enhanced with dark graphics expressing earthiness and raw feelings.

The Brvtalist: What is the idea behind the new record? How was the curatorship done?

Ian: The idea was to get involved with some of my personal favourite artists from all the time plus one of my favourite artists actually that I played most. I couldn't imagine a better result as we have what I want from the very first time.

It started in December or maybe a little bit early as we manage all releases with about minimum 6 months in advance (about vinyl) and to be honest was fast and smooth as all of them were huge professionals that I truly admire.

The Brvtalist: What’s your advice for those willing to release on your label? And what advice would you give to emerging artists that are trying to break into the music business?

Ian: Should be always something that takes my attention, not focus on a style in concrete but more on the ideas and concepts. We released from Coldwave to Industrial though acid and electro with mainly Ebm sounds. My advice is to work on something that sounds different, that's the most difficult these days.

The Brvtalist: Name 3 releases you like the most from Soil and tell us why.

Ian: I couldn't name 3 only to be honest. We are improving on many things on every release we do, from design to edit, from sound quality or the way we do it. So each one is really personal as we do many things DIY from packaging, stamps or screen prints for the designs. So each one has something special.

The Brvtalist: What else can we expect from Soil in 2021? And what’s coming up next for you as an artist?

Ian: May comes high as we have Cavalry Stone back on Soil, also we have our 3rd anniversary VA at the end of May with a great compilation of artists with many surprises. About vinyl, Soil13 will be by Argentinian artist Distant, which includes remixes from, The Mover, Randstad, Max Durante and Melania.

As an artist I recently released on Fill Lex records VA on vinyl, and scheduled tracks and remixes on Meta Moto, Pildoras Tapes, DClock Records, Faith Disciplines…to name a few, that will be out soon. Also my next vinyl on Soil is a collaboration that I did with Years Of Denial and we have a good remixer inside too.

The Brvtalist: Do you agree that music and politics are intertwined? Give us your opinion about it.

Ian: Yes, always music since its music is part of the protest. Not only music, all kinds of art.

PREMIERE: Wará - Deimos (UL006)

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track by Wará. We present today "Deimos", a dark ambient work with an eerie atmosphere and haunting vocals, which comes off Urban Legend new release. The EP features 2 original tracks from Wará and Lair and 2 great remixes from NX1 and Sam KDC, adding hypnotic and industrial beats to Wará's and Lair's underworld atmospheres.

Out now on digital format + vinyl. Pick it up here.

Vinyl cutting at CUT CUT CUT studios.

-Melanie Havens

PREMIERE: Lucas Campagna - Kiss My Kick Drum (Carbone Records)

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Lucas Campagna. Curated by D.Carbone, Carbone Records is back with Raving Disorder compilation. The 3rd volume presents 6 massive tracks from D.Carbone, Diøn, Valeriø Innørta, WNBS, Lucas Campagna and Thrae. Today we present the infectious banger "Kiss My Kick Drum", which shows off Lucas' hard-hitting, scorching sound.

Out April 15th on digital format + vinyl. Pre-order here.

-Melanie Havens

PREMIERE: Uncrat - Clear Quesy (P.E.A.R.L. Remix)(MOST003)

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Uncrat. “Clear Quesy (PEARL Remix)” comes off the new EP, Exlcaim (Moral Standards), which brings us three originals and one remix from the young and promising producer. From the opening launch of the title track to the crushing industrial and touches of trance, this shows the ever evolving state of techno and gives us glimpse of where it’s headed. Today we premiere the heavy, dance floor destroying remix of “Clear Quesy” by label owner P.E.A.R.L.

Exclaim is out on vinyl + digital on April 16th. Get yours on BANDCAMP.

-JRS

Video Premiere: HIV+ "Nerfs" (feat. Barkosina YOD) [uprGOLD016]

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from HIV+ in collaboration with Barkosina from Years Of Denial. “Nerfs” comes off Unknown Pleasures new release Theatre Of Cruelty, available on digital format, vinyl, CD & cassette.

Rereading his complete works during the pandemic, Pedro decided to revive his HIV+ power-noise project and compose a new uncompromising album to pay homage to the French poet, novelist, actor and playwright Antonin Artaud. Most of his instrumentals were recorded while in seclusion and only with old Korg synthesizers, industrial sequences and shredded tapes.

The man imprisoned within his human limits. Nowhere to stay, nowhere to go. The sheer despair of being. God is useless. The flesh can't bare the clockwork of the soul. To remake itself from the abyss of existence. “Nerfs” is a rich composition, darkly made of shadows and fragments, combined with Barkosina's feverish haunting vocals a la Diamanda Galás. A work made of whispers, industrial heartbeats, and a deep cry to remind us that the Theatre Of Cruelty remains the same. Forever And Ever.

Video by Jerome Tcherneyan from Years Of Denial.

Pick up the release here now.

-Melanie Havens