As
for me, I’ve finished the storyboard phase of the first chapter of my webcomic,
and I have a short story I wrote ready to go for a contest I’m submitting to.
This has made me feel a bit better about blogging, having gotten some of my
higher priorities accomplished, so you might expect some more output from me
this month. My next blog will likely be 1987 in Music, as I’ve been working on
that bit by bit. Other topics I may cover this month include the summer
solstice, my late grandfather’s birthday, the travelogue from my 2014 Armenia
trip (I’ve been waiting to post that), some more mixtape playlists, and
whatever else strikes my fancy.
Anyway, I’ve been listening to all
sorts lately, but parenthood and art have stopped me from really being able to
sit and meditate to music like I used to. It’s just not really at the forefront
of my thoughts as of late. I’m still going to try to make some mixtapes soon
though, when I finally get the time. In the meantime, let’s have a look at what
I’ve dug up over the past month or so.
IC3PEAK
– Плак-Плак (Boo-Hoo)
This is a band I happened upon when someone randomly shared it on Facebook; I believe it was DJ Maus of Communion After Dark. They remind me of a Russian Die Antwoord, music-wise. It’s dark-sounding electronic music with Russian influence, but with almost hip-hop vocals. Hard to really pinpoint an exact genre. The music video really enhances the song to the point where it’s hard not to imagine the video in my head when listening to it normally. It has some production value that most of the bands I’m into wouldn’t have the budget to produce. Listening with the English captions is recommended; from what I can gather, the song is about growing up around domestic abuse, and the singer not knowing how to feel or grieve for abusive father when they died. With possibly other meanings. I’m not certain how lyrics like “Your brains are all over the wall” fit in with this interpretation. I’ve been discovering a lot of music from Russia lately too, oddly. We've got one more Russian singer on this list.
Kalte
Nacht – Humans Are Mistakes
What a nice, edgy title. Humans are mistakes. What was it the painter Bob Ross used to say? "There are no mistakes, just happy accidents". Well, depends on how cynical you want to be about humanity. If you look at how humanity is destroying the environment, perhaps it was a mistake for primates to become bipedal. The song itself has an ominous feel to it that I think suits the current climate in the world. It's relevant.
Despite the German band name, which translates to "Cold Night", Kalte Nacht is a minimal dark synth band out of Athens, Greece. They join Grey Gallows as another band from Greece entering the dark alternative music scene. Their debut self-titled album was released just last March. I recommend checking them out. I’d compare the band to Lebanon Hanover and SYZYGYX in sound, vocals and style.
Svetlana
Mart – Moon Eclipsed the Sun
Svetlana Mart is a Russian model and musician, and this is her debut single, released last March. It’s a catchy industrial EBM track about dancing around a pentagram during a solar eclipse and casting spells. Fun stuff. It will get stuck in your head quickly though, be warned. It’d be a great dancefloor track. I could imagine this one being played at a gothic nightclub. I feel like it’s been a while since I came across a really dancey, upbeat track like this. And there’s even a music video, as you can see above.
Honorary
Mention: La Scaltra – Astral Kiss
La Scaltra is a band out of Germany who I only just discovered through this track, and they sound quite promising indeed. I’m going to have to listen to more from them. This song was released as part of a compilation album Sparkles in the Darkness Vol. 5 by Dark Italia. It has a haunting sound to it, and lyrics about the sun and moon and the “astral kiss” remind me of space and the universe. I’ve been very interested in astronomy lately, which may be a big reason I find this song so appealing. Perfect to listen to when taking a walk at night under the stars.
And the album this song is from: https://darkitalia.bandcamp.com/album/sparkles-in-the-dark-vol-5-radio-darkitalia-edition?fbclid=IwAR3zowRxnyNi0XM3mm5fe8S0BLG8GPJNNTOcXOboqZBCDZxmwYqg1wqaRhg
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