Tag: ebm

Spike Hellis Come Home to Das Bunker After 40 Date Headlining Tour

Danny Baraz August 11, 2023

A year and a half ago, I saw Spike Hellis for the first time at Das Bunker. I was there to see Pixel Grip but I had been hearing a buzz about this transcendental ebm outfit that had been playing a bunch of gigs that I kept missing. I went into Catch One with some expectations and Spike Hellis lived up to them all. Two prodigious partners dancing in a dystopian wasteland to a soundtrack they orchestrated. Hard ass beats laced with round synths and compelling vocals. They were mesmerizing and hypnotic and that was just my first taste. Flash forward to June 30th, 2023. Spike Hellis have played 701,432 shows since then and have just returned from a 40 date tour, their first. Their 2022 self titled album was number 1 on my list of best albums for the year. I’ve seen them open for Twin Tribes and be the first band on a Sound and Fury side show lineup, of all things and may other gigs. Spike Hellis have delivered every time. They might be the hardest working band in independent music, right now. related: Pixel Grip, Spike Hellis and Black Light Odyssey Find Refuge at Das Bunker

Janky Smooth Sessions: INVA//ID at Bar Sinister

Danny Baraz February 5, 2023

Goth, Industrial, EBM, Dark Wave, Post Punk, et al, born in the shadows, is having it’s moment in the sun- to the dismay of some of its denizens. But to Industrial acts like INVA//ID, the spotlight is deserved and somewhat welcome. After all, bands want people at their shows. On this Saturday night at Bar Sinister in Hollywood, there was no lack of patrons. Janky Smooth got a chance to speak with Christopher Rivera and and Krz Greenhaw of INVA//ID about their music, the state of the scene and the sounds and places that have influenced them. One of those influential places is Boardners/Bar Sinister and it’s constant presence in Los Angeles post punk and other scenes and genres cannot be understated. So it was fitting that this was the setting for both the show and our interview. Keep an eye out for the next single from INVA//ID dropping on Feb. 14th with the full length expected in July 2023. INVA//ID: Bandcamp Instagram Videographer: Chris Shaibi Video Editing and Words: Danny Baraz Photos: Jessica Moncrief

Cold Waves LA: Heaven For Industrial Kids

Rob Shepyer October 8, 2018

Photos by: Abraham Preciado In the 1980’s, Chicago was the epicenter of North America’s Industrial music explosion with Wax Trax records birthing some of the genre’s most iconic bands, namely Ministry. Chicago’s importance in the history of Industrial music cannot be overstated. That’s why when Cold Waves, the country’s premiere Industrial festival, announced it was bringing it’s cavalcade of musicians to Los Angeles, it was a big deal for the genre and our city. I still regret missing the first Cold Waves LA last year and so, made sure to attend this year’s. 1720 might seem like a hidden gem because of the surrounding debris and chaos of the area it resides in but after spending my weekend there, I can say it’s one of the better venues in Los Angeles. This is the case for a few reasons, the sound quality and stage being at the top of that list but also its comfortable, well air conditioned atmosphere and it’s smoking area, where bands and audience become one. Day 1 The festival began with a DJ set by legendary artist Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly. His set was moody and brooding, the sounds of circuity unnerving due to

The Sound of Sex: Boy Harsher Seduces The Echoplex

Rob Shepyer January 29, 2018

If you were to cross Jae Matthews, vocalist of Boy Harsher, on the sidewalk you may not have any idea you were just in the presence of an industrial dance goddess. Hailing from Savannah Georgia, her and producer August Muller, don’t necessarily fit into your idea of what a goth should look like but then when you hear their combined force, you sense that this is the music that the world’s darkwave/industrial dance/EBM should crowd around. Part Time Punks did it again, lassoing a lineup that could sell out the Echoplex two times over with Boy Harsher getting support from Din and High-Functioning Flesh. Both bands feature producer Greg Vand, yet both bands sound completely different. Din was first, with female vocals and guitars to pair with Vand’s must-dance soundscapes. The filtered vocals gave the industrial sounds a bit of a shoe-gaze or post punk flare. Although sounding totally unique, Din offers a more straight forward and obvious dance triggering sound than High-Functioning Flesh. Using samples of voices to make musical medleys and punchy beats that marry Susan Subtract’s punchy crust vocals, High-Functioning Flesh sounds like revolution music for the cyber punk era. I’ve seen them numerous times now and

Cloak & Dagger Fest: The Heart Of Los Angeles Bled From Dusk Till Dawn

Rob Shepyer October 27, 2017

Good “dark” music should come from a damaged yet open heart because it’s those damages that make all the styles of dark music involved in Cloak And Dagger Festival beautiful to those that wear black late at night- or during the day, for that matter. Whether it was dark wave, new wave, post punk, goth/death rock, industrial, EBM, or shoegaze, every shade of black was represented on those two cold October nights. Right from the first lineup announcement, it was understood that this would be like no other festival. With three stages at the Globe and Tower theaters, an all black dress code, and local brand recognition, I was sure the siamese evenings would play out like a movie, think Eyes Wide Shut meets Gimme Shelter. The lineup hosted plenty of bands that are Janky Smooth favorites like Ho99o9, Health, Moon Duo, and Uniform. Iconic artists like KMFDM, OhGr, and The Jesus and Mary Chain were set to share the two stages with future headliners like Cold Cave, The Soft Moon, and Lust For Youth. So any goth kid, let alone this one, would be awestruck and elated at the chance to partake in the affair. Night 1: Black is the absence of

So Much Strange At Das Bunker 21st Anniversary At Union

Rob Shepyer October 15, 2017

I’ve always been iffy about going to Das Bunker. Industrial music has held a special place in my heart since high school when I used to smoke myself stupid and put on headphones to let Skinny Puppy pervert my vulnerable mind. Later, when it came to light that Skinny Puppy’s music was used to torture inmates in Guantanamo Bay, I had to reassess what damage I had done to my senses. I’ve always loved the music but the industrial scene itself, turned me off. Those industrial pants are fucking ridiculous and the dancing is down right goofy, especially when the only one on the floor is a 50-year-old gamer, sucking in his gut. So, I had my reservations, but with my need to never miss out, I still feel like shit that I couldn’t go to the Das Bunker 20th anniversary show, last year. Now I would kill to see The Legendary Pink Dots. related content: Front 242 And Severed Heads Bring Classic Industrial To The Regent Theater To make up for last year’s absence and check out some insanely hot goth chicks, I committed myself to make it to at least one of the two nights of the 21st anniversary. I

Front 242 And Severed Heads Bring Classic Industrial To The Regent Theater

Rob Shepyer September 29, 2017

Cold Waves and Das Bunker joined forces to create one hell of a concert bill for a Wednesday night. Belgian innovators of EBM, Front 242 and Australian industrial icons, Severed Heads shared a stage for this incredible evening of dark, electronic music. Both groups are legends in the world of industrial but their performing styles couldn’t be any more different. related content: Psychic TV Experiment With Auditory Alchemy At The Echoplex The Regent was filled with goth kids, Skinny Puppy shirts abound. I eavesdropped on a few conversations and they were all talking about careers in game development. Das Bunker DJs were spinning some tracks as we waited for the opening act which I parked right in front of the stage for. The first thing I noticed about the stage set-up was the red roses strewn all over the electronic decks. I imagined with a name like Romy, they’d be an act with some kind of romance or romeo reference but came to learn she was no male heartthrob or heartbreaker. She was in fact an extraordinarily talented artist and might just be a female Trent Reznor in utero. Utilizing synths and drum machines, Romy makes incredibly catchy, hard-hitting and dark,

Perturbator, Author & Punisher: Using Devices To Debase Regent Theater

Rob Shepyer September 19, 2017

Electronic music allows a single artist to take on all the working parts of a band because those parts become synthesized in their machines. The electronic revolution has opened up new opportunities and avenues for artists who might not have ever been interested in picking up a guitar- and that’s no slight against EDM artists (up until this night I was under the impression that EDM was the Pop style of electronic music, at large). The point of music isn’t just to wow you and me with virtuosic and technical playing- it’s to express ones soul and if electronics help an artist do that more purely and directly then it’s a good thing. In this sense, Jim Morrison was right when he predicted the future of music would consist largely of one person and an arsenal of components. So if in Morrison’s mind’s eye he had an image of what that future would actually LOOK like, I doubt it would’ve differed too much from what I saw at The Regent Theater when Perturbator, Author & Punisher and Whiteqube were booked to showcase a different kind of electronic music than what you might imagine when you see the letters E D