unholy rhythms

*Premiere — ✝ DE△D VIRGIN ✝*

So came the time for you to return to your world and my heart would break again. Bitter and cold, my heart hardens with my love for you. It was an agreement I surely did not want to make. A contract made solely upon my family’s urging - my tears would be the confirmation they so desired. I had to resign, in order to save you, by giving away my own heart for a period of time. During your absence, I would transform into a different entity. I wouldn’t flourish, I was stagnant and withered. In this state I would remain, until you shone your loving face on me once again.

It seems the latest subject of genre-bending controversy is the enigmatic, ✝ DE△D VIRGIN ✝. Not even one week has passed, and just in time for samhain, another ✝ DE△D VIRGIN ✝ EP has been unearthed - like a creaking zombie arising from the grave. The result of the latest EP is a samhainistic celebration of the beginning of the darker time of the year with hints of the light strewn throughout the tracks. As you begin your descent into the murky abyss, you see the light flickering, dancing and bidding you adieu. You begin your Persephonic descent back to the underworld, strings sing yearningly like Demeter’s very own heartache. You fight and claw your way - pounding and pulsating - striving to hold on to something that is your very own. In the end, when the last song begins, and the sounds arise, you have bid your farewell for the moment. 

Get it at bandcamp or save the free download slots and cop it at mediafire.

♪ File under: electronic, witch house, mementomorigaze

Sometimes words just cannot describe how I feel about a track. I sit and try to dissect individual elements and I’m at a loss. Case in point for M△S▴C△RA & sLOW HEAD’s “ℭṲℛ§€Ð ĦѺѺД. This is exactly what I’m feeling at the moment; a slowed down, super textured background track which serves as a fantastic juxtaposition to harder, deeper intonations. It’s blissful but hard. ANNOYINGLY GOOD.

(M△S▴C△RA -  earlier at leaving scene.)

♪ File under: electronic, screwed, hardblissscrewedfi

The fog encompassed the entire area, creating a blanket of sweet smelling smog. At that moment, everything came together clearly: it was then clear that this was the right path, the right direction for us. We were to conquer our worries, all the logical, nagging problems that ate us from inside our guts. Without you, I would cease to exist. I have come to rely on you to project my ghost, my being, the essence of what and who I truly was. You were the only one that could claim ownership of those phantasmal projections. For you were the only one I would reveal everything to and, in time, I would allow myself to be broadcast. 

Once upon a time, I featured a labyrinth ear track on my page and now I’m pleased to say she’s released an official EP for download just in time for Halloween. Full of throbbing synths, nu synth pop touches, and the right amount of head bobbing, dark beats, “Oak” is a fantastically greyish work. Never too dark, and just the right amount of lyrical yearning, it is an EP for the nu romantic/synth pop set. Amorously aphotic. 

Go to the webpage to download it for free.

♪ File under: electronic, synth pop, darkwave, dance magic dance

We strove for greatness as we jumped and twirled through the wastelands, the forests, and the clouds. We dodged and hid, pounced and stomped all in the name of glory. And as we came upon the crystal clear water, the waters that would hold our fate, we dove in without fear. No longer were we afraid, two champions united in a common purpose.

I’m a huge fan of 8bit/chip tune music so I was thrilled when I stumbled upon One In A Googolplex. The songs often mix aesthetics of folk with 8-bit, creating a chill chiptune concoction. Blips and bleeps coruscate over twinkling melodies emulating your favorite underwater levels in the games of yesteryear. Level up! 

Their latest album, “Dropout Cats,” dropped Oct. 19th on Alchemist Records.

♪ File under: electronic, 8bit, folkbit, 1up!

We walked amongst the huge trees, each tree taller than the next. As we made our way up higher and higher, I struggled with the fear that was growing from within me. When I found a small, isolated area, I forgot all about this worry. From out of this gigantic, fallen giant, some yellow mushrooms sprouted. They lined the crevices like pores - visible and defiant.

Yellowbirds create sunny, psychedelic folk. Warm and inviting, “The Rest Of My Life” opens with a gorgeous, simple organ chord that seems to linger until it bursts - creating room for the percussion, the jangly guitar, and the hesitant vocals. It is a lot like shade on a warm day, a cool glass of ice tea, a gentle breeze that carries you away. You become so wrapped up in the warmth, you almost forget where you are. Visible and defiant.

The recently released single is available over at bandcamp.

♪ File under: psychedelic, sunny, psych rock

Depraved of all niceties bestowed upon others, I return home to much pomp and circumstance. The fanfare I received would be short lived, as you quickly shunned my return. You would isolate, lash out, and terrorize me - taunting me with your cruel eyes. Black as coal. Small. I couldn’t be any closer yet farther from you than I already was. Having communicated to you my desires in smalls nods and scribblings, you further sequester yourself. At night, dreams would consume you until you could no longer tolerate my presence. Limbless bodies and bugs would slither over and around you until you could take no more. You would scream and gasp as you woke up drenched. No longer could you bare to look at me. What horrors would manifest from our once flourishing love?

Passion Party is infectious darkly sexual pop. Menacing and intoxicating, “Loser,” illustrates the story of violent rejection - of one so lovelorn, they cannot help but act out their frustration. The synths play in a staccato repetition, hammering out the building agony of a persistent lurker. His voice shakes and stalks, voicing an idea that what he’s doing may just be wrong. Dark, creepily sensual lurker bossa for two.

Get at bandcamp.

♪ File under: electronic, dark pop, depressocore

I try to remain secluded from the eyes of the outside world but your urging makes it difficult. You try to coax me to be seen, to reveal my insecurities and worries that feast on my insides. In those secret moments, you whisper sweetly that I should have no apprehension, hoping to convince me to appear. Those honey drenched words your tongue chants seem to work, allowing me to throw away reservations that might have held me back. For when the time is right, I appear to everyone, yet no one - being acknowledged by only a few with appreciative, delicate eyes.

Enjoy Sun returns with another gorgeous, echo laden, euphoric track. There is a gentleness, a soft dewy texture which lingers from start to finish. It is mysterious, humble, and comforting - trickling with sprinkling, ludic synths; musical mellifluous osculations that warm the listener from head to toe. Like eagerly awaiting the night just to watch the moon rise in all its glory.

(Seen previously on U/R)

♪ File under: electronic, sparklingsoftfi, post post rock

I cannot endure the constant haunting of my dreams. Night time somnambulance disturbed by your walking thoughts - memories not yet fully brought to term. You moan and hiss, you snarl and bite, thrashing wildly in an attempt to consume me. If I were to give in just a little, you’d overtake me completely. You would take my mind, my thoughts, my soul as if they were your very own. Unable to resist any longer, I resign. Gnashing my teeth. Clawing. Screeching. And at that moment, I peacefully relinquished all rights to you. A nightmarish, beautiful seduction.

✝ DE△D VIRGIN ✝ came creeping in the night like an unforgettable, foggy apparition. Haunting, vexing melodies compose a fantastic EP that, at times, sounds more like a classical gothic take on witch house. With the right amount of distortion and delay heavy loops, the EP contains many breathtaking moments of eerie euphoria. There are blips and beeps and soaring strings that we don’t always hear on other witch house tunes. It’s as if someone has taken a classical gothic fugue and reworked it entirely into atmospheric, beat heavy, voodoo witch house. Like being engulfed by a black magic spell - wandering at night in a cloudy pulchritudinous catastrophe. PHANTASMAL!

Get it at bandcamp.

(Seen earlier at my blog bro Cactus-Mouth.)

♪ File under: dark, darkwave, witch house, rapegaze

* Pick #6 - “Eat Eat” by Asei Kobayashi & Micky Yoshino

From the 1977 film, “Hausu”, directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi.

A group of friends go to the mountains during summer vacation to visit a schoolmate’s aunt. They will never been seen again.

One of the most memorable films on the planet, the soundtrack closely mirrors the psychedelic, genre mashing that is Hausu (House). There’s bubblegum pop, blues, boogie, and Canterbury-esque/Goblin prog rock all housed in this lovely gem of a film. “Eat” is reprised later in the film as “Eat Eat” (the song featured here) and then again as “Eat Eat Eat” and each time they get darker and darker. During “Eat Eat”, we are treated to fuzzy, wah-wah guitars, an ultra groovy bassline and a jamming guitar solo. NICE!

You can read my review at a taste of blood.

♪ File under: horror film soundtrack, october music, freakoutz

I tried to flee from the atrocities that surrounded me. There, in the midst of miscreants and abominations, I was the sole caretaker to brutish fiends. No longer could I stand to absorb the abuse they inflicted upon me. I sought solace elsewhere; I longed for loving acceptance. At first, he was gentle and kind - showing me the fields of flowers, the sky at night, those little things I had forgotten. Then, slowly, he began to morph into a creature I had wished not to see. As time went on, he began to prove he was no less domineering than those exploitative, heartless monsters but it was far too late. I was falling, spiraling downwards into my own love-filled doom. Orphaned.

Auckland’s Dark Art surrounds their music in dark, laser synths and bombastic, doom laden beats. Songs build slowly, ascending to their doom, while hidden, echoing voices hesitantly reveal themselves. Beats bounce off each other, playing out a doom march. It is dark without being depressive, cold without being frigid, retaining a small sense of urgency. The next wave of doom pop - jubilant and catastrophic enchanting. A contained celebration of isolation.

Get it at bandcamp.

♪ File under: darkwave, dark pop, electronic, doom pop

I sit and wait - impatiently anticipating the possession you promised. After many evocations, you finally murmured sweet words of urgency. Oh, how you longed to overtake my being. How you desperately desired to see what I saw and feel what I felt. All because I chanted those forbidden words that had not fallen upon your ears in centuries…

Piresian Beach is back and this time darker than ever. Her goosebump-inducing track, “Never Fear”, is a ghoulish, stripped down, atmospheric track that further beckons you to participate in a haunted slow dance for two. Like confronting the demonic at night, she stands steadfast in her resolve - crooning and purring that she will never fear the devil. Reminiscent of a Lynchian, Twin Peaks-esque track with super sultry guitar work and apparitions that quiver in the beginning. A joyful possession that hardly begs the dead to evacuate.

Get the track here and spread the word. (Previously on U/R)

♪ File under: lo-fi, apparitions, ghostfi, don’tcallanexcorcistienjoythis

Long before I moved to San Francisco, I endlessly suffered from failed audial match-making attempts. People would say to me, “Oh, you’d really love so-and-so,” and upon listening, I would be countlessly disappointed. I was a bit saddened that they would believe I liked *that*. What about me screamed *that* (whatever it was) type of music or band?

Since meeting theleavingscene, about 2 1/2 months ago, I have come to find out he is the first person that truly gets me. When he says I’ll like something, I will. He is, in essence, sharing a brain with me and it is beyond SCARY. SCARY GOOD.

That being said, he potsed this dope track from Z▲NZIB▲R. Hypnotic, addictive as dark sugar - a sweet witch house track that I could just listen to on repeat endlessly. Much love.

theleavingscene:

Z▲NZIB▲R - “STRR”

We were on an endless and vain search to find out who you really were. I couldn’t provide you with the answers you needed, the ones you so desperately sought. What I could provide you with was my companionship and adoration. Whatever you were before, I had no true interest in finding out. The person you had become was what drew me to you. Your rough, callous flesh which felt like the scales of a lizard, the mile long scars which covered your face, and the way you lived with gusto. When it came down to it, I was just a bystander in this story, hopelessly striving to protect and uncover the truth.

It seems that music has a way of finding me from time to time. + dope cellar + found his way over to me on myspace and it was love at first dark, sludgey listen. Super, dark witch house with murky, oozing samples and atmospheric instrumentals that warble and shake. This is the kind of music that embodies the name “drag”. Dark beyond dark. 

♪ File under: electronic, darkwave, witch house, sludgedrag

The disco ball twirled around the empty club, dancing like electric sprites over the barren dance floor. I was pushed into the crowd, unwillingly forced to dance to whatever music was playing. In a circle, strangers in the night, moved with reckless abandon, without inhibition, clapping and nodding their head to the beat that resonated in our chests. At that moment, the deserted club became full and vibrant - everything was forgotten. No worries, no accepting that tomorrow, I would be gone and never see you again, no fears… I even forgot that I still loved you. 

In the vain of Niva and CEO, comes the fantastic Swedish sensation Radio Seed. This is the kind of music that makes you want to abandon all inhibitions and dance around wildly. Pure, glistening electro-pop with sun-kissed synths, dreamy vocals, and vibrant, sparkling sounds. You fall in love easily, dancing without restraint, while the drums pound and tick gently yet with resolve. Dream pop at its finest. Highly recommended. 

His album “There Has To Be More” will be released world wide November 9th c/o Darla Records.

(nudge, nudge, wink wink to Young Henry)

♪ File under: electronic, svenksk, jag älska, jättebra!!!

* Pick #5 - Bruno Nicolai - Insida

From the 1972 film, “All The Colors Of Dark”, directed by Sergio Martino.

A woman suffers a miscarriage after a car crash and begins to find herself pursued by a group of satanists.

Like most giallo horror films, “All The Colors of Dark” has a couple of tracks with a woman just singing out “oohs and ahhs” while gentle, soothing music plays in the background. Pianos ominously play, flutes hum, vibes quiver, and strings dance like atmospheric rain drops. The film, in all regards, appeared to be Italy’s answer to “Rosemary’s Baby.” While the film may be somewhat similar, the soundtracks differ in style. Atmospheric.

♪ File under: horror film soundtrack, october music, freakoutz

I couldn’t help but dream of you. There, we were able to be ourselves, to be connected like we wanted. You would wrap your long, sinewy arms around me. Your hands would inch up my back like serpents slithering in the sand. When there was no around, you would pull me close and kiss my forehead, smiling with pride. We would fight sleep like warriors, hoping that our eyelids wouldn’t fall prey to our tiresome bodies. Just a little more time with you, my mind would chant, until the night took us as victims. When I awoke, with no one around me, I could still feel your arms enveloping me.

Roman Photos performs some new wave, nu romantic pop that I am so loving at the moment. With whipping synths, yearning vocals, and glimmering sounds, it is perfect dancing-by-yourself music. Dark, nu romance for the nu age. Moody without being gloomy, joyous without being too boisterous, and passionate without being too suffocating. A glimmering dark pop gem.

“These Arms” is a b-side from an upcoming 7”. In the meantime, get more at bandcamp.

♪ File under: electronic, dark pop, nu romantic

Narwhal is a duo from Barcelona consisting of Cristian Subirá and Simon Williams. Cristian is part of Coconot and founder of Discos Compulsivos, while Simon is also known as Sunny Graves. The two came together and decided to start playing as Narwhal: a sonic space-fi outfit. Like being washed upon an auditory shore after being carried by fluttering sine waves, it drifts in and out of psychedelic consciousness. Echo laden voices resonate over twinkling, cosmic synths. And like a dwarf star bursting, the instrumentation combusts in a swirling, flickering finale.

Check out their video for “Whirling Ceremony” below and listen to their EP here.

♪ File under: electronic, psychedelic, space jam

We would stalk the fields, watching and waiting for the perfect time to strike. At night, when all seemed hopeless, we could ransack empty houses in hopes of survival - stealing rice and eating until our bellies were full. After we stole what we could off the wanderers in the night, we’d bury our decaying secrets deep below the ground. Playing upon my fears, you would dance around madly, masked and uninhibited, in the night, a darkened Noh routine for two.

As the weather is cools down, I notice more of a shift in my playlists. The usual warm, sunny jangly lo-fi seems to be falling lower on the list and slower, nebulous tunes are appearing. Out crawls the caliginiously kissed wunderkind - Indigochild - feeding us with much needed darkwave beats. Shadowy, wobbling, pulsating synths and hushed vocals create an ominous, captivating atmosphere. Like enthusiastically embracing the ghoulish with open arms.

You can download some tracks at last.fm.

♪ File under: dark wave, witch house, (ﾟДﾟ|||)