When we started the Drop Dead magazine we quickly got to know a French musician Manu (Sleeping Children, The Cemetary Girlz, Camp Z) he was one of the first writers to come on board with the Drop Dead Magazine. He contributed reviews of new French releases, wrote an excellent article on the current French music scene. Not only was this awesome for the our brand new magazine but also it was clear from day one, this guy is serious about promoting music and he is going to do something about it.

Fast forward to 2008 and Manu starts an online Label Zorch Factory Records. A completely digital record label with full free albums to download was something unique and revolutionary for the Dark music scene. Just like the first wave of self released records pioneered by punk bands and the tape culture, technology and organization have finally caught up to make something like this possible. The idea is simple release records online, bypass traditional record industry and the expense of physically self releasing, and what’s more label and all the bands promote each other.

Now two years later Zorch Factory Records digitally released seventy three records from fifty bands and scored more then thirty thousand downloads. Below is a small excerpt from a full interview to appear in the next issue of the Drop Dead Magazine. Enjoy and after reading don’t delay go through the Zorch catalog, download like crazy and join us in celebrating the new evolution of underground music.

DDM: how do you select bands for your label?

Manu: well they contact me or I contact them Manu now it’s more like 70% contact me

DDM: what are your guidelines for excepting or rejecting the new submissions?

Manu: they must fit the styles of the site, they must have a sufficient production level, and finally I must like what they do. if I like something a lot and is a little different than the trad genres it’s OK If they are in a classical genre and OK even if I do not adore it is OK too

DDM: what genres are the target ones ?

Manu: post punk in general from trad goth rock, batcave, Deathrock to more alternative stuff. Currently i am really in the widest definition of post punk: industrial, experimental, experimental electro, dark electro (minimalist one)

DDM: ebm?

Manu yes why not i am open

DDM: what kind of sound turns you off immediately, what genres you absolutely will not accept?

Manu Sound quality of the recording is really important

DDM: so if some one submits something you absolutely love but recoding quality is poor.. then ?

Manu if recording quality is poor I would maybe say OK for a demo otherwise I say, let’s wait next record

Manu Also everything that sounds too commercial. Example of too commercial things

there are dozen of editors like bands today everywhere in Europethey are good, good sound, but i find this boring I prefer more weird stuff: electro punk, electro post punk Things that are too mainstream goth, too metal goth, too rock without nothing weird are usually out

To listen and download all the Zorch Factory bands go to zorchfactoryrecords.com

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Coming soon Also included videos, mp3,s Legendary Pink Dots Interview, New Bands, Show reviews, in love with the gadget, remembering Cramps, style watch, Festival coverage

Admittedly I have been a bit silent about the past Drop Dead, no full review, not as many photos as there should have been. Honestly this year was daunting. Between crazy logistics and sound problems, there never the less was magic in the air. Festival officially was 5 days beginning with concerts on the beach under the moonlight but people came early and stayed late so it really was more like a week to two week extravaganza. The bands were amazing, and Portugal was a special place to visit. Simply the whole thing was daunting work to put together and run with a tiny crew but an experience of a lifetime never the less.

There has been copious amounts of videos from the festival on youtube some of questionable quality, some pretty damn good. this will give you some idea of inspiration , madness and silliness that went on last October in Portugal, Drop Dead Festival 6. Kicking things off with a funny segment from a major Portuguese TV station featuring an interview with yours truly and bemused 13th moon.

Please follow me behind the Cut to see UK Decay, Kitchen and the Plastic Spoons, Lene Lovich , Cinema Strange, Phantom Vision, †13th MOON†, and Tchiki Boum playing at the festival.

Read more »

We live in the age when you can find videos of even the most obscure bands on Youtube or any number of other video hosting services. The catch is that most of them are low quality and you do have to know what you’re looking for. If you’re interested in French obscure music you’re in luck. Recently Delphine Sanchez of Darklight released Under Ground DVD, a collection of French underground music concert footage and interviews. The whole thing is in French including the subtitles and interviews but this video is an especially cool find for those outside. It’s not always easy to discover French underground music, which is a shame because France consistently produces brilliant bands and musicians. Even if you know many French bands odds are you have never seen most of them. For example I saw Frustration and Norma Loy at Drop Dead the past few years (both in this collection)but I have been dying to see Von Magnet, Gaë Bolg or Jad Wio in concert.

The UnderGround menu divides twenty-one bands into five categories:
Les Rockers ( Rockers) : Jad Wio , Jacquy Bitch , Wallenberg and Frustration
Les Elfes (Elves) Onel’k, Gaë Bolg, Breath of Life, Stathis and Hide and Seek
Les Bioniques (Bbionics) Blue Cat, Dolls of Pain, Suiside Commando, Jabbertwock, Violet Stigmata and Ex-Tenssion
Les Hargneux (Aggressive): Tamtrum, Dexy Corp and Collapse
Les Electrons Libres ( Free Electrons): La Federation, Von Magnet, Die Puppe and Norma Loy

In addition to concert footage the following interviews are included: Tamtrum, Norma Loy, Frustration, Von Magnet, Jad Wio, Jabberwock, Jacquy Bitch, Wallenberg, Violent Stigmata

Being of a more art music bent my favorite categories were rockers, elves and free electrons that covered quirky, dark, experimental, cold wave, deathrock, art rock and world influenced music. Aggressive and bionics feature EBM and hard rock bands which I will skip next time. Particular standouts were Jad Wio with three very different videos, the quirky and dark Gaë Bolg , flamenco-influenced Von Magnet, world music La Federation , Edith Piaf influenced Onel’k of course Frustration and Norma Loy were as expected top notch performances.

Some noted absences were Clair Obscure, Charles De Goal, Joy Disaster but really you cant cover every one in one video and their is always the next one (we can hope).

Jad Wio: Performance DVD UNDERGROUND

All in all the video quality of this DVD is very good, with some editing making me dizzy and some confusing audience shots of yawning and leaving the room, and just plain semi empty rooms in few cases. This is probably me being use to the American somewhat fictitious way of making every show looking full and only shots of incredibly enthused fans. It was amusing to see all my French friends in various audience shots. Although I have to wonder about proliferation of almost identical bold men, not only in bands but also in the audience, is that part of some kind of conspiracy?

You most definitely do need this DVD and you can buy it from Darklight, now what are you waiting for?

Review and Photography By Polina Y

You know how sometimes you see  a guy and you think, damn if only you were mine, I know I could make you happy, damn you’rE so fine, so so fine. Well Bowery Ballroom is one of those clubs. i walk in and fantasize what kind of shows I can put on here, if only you were mine Bowery Ballroom aahh you’re so so sexy. Anyway it’s Sunday December 7th and I am here to see Swedish girl fronted punk group Love Is All. Opening the night is another band I am curious to see Cold Cave, and in the middle is the much hyped about Crystal Stilts.

I discovered Cold Cave through their label Dais Records which in turn I discovered because they are my friends bands (Cult Of Youth) label. Since I didn’t have anything by these guys and their Myspace tracks are quiet varied (from french sounding cold wave electronics, to glitch drone experimental,  to Joy Division influenced gray post punk)i had no idea what to expect. The crowd is filling in which a bit of a surprise on a Sunday and for the opening band but I guess the word is out about these guys and you can see that quite a few people crowding up front are here just for them. Cold Cave comes on stage; three guys in dark coats, all lined up. Each with a synth, the one on the right with what looks like an electronic drum combo.  Before the first note is played the mood is set, a gray, dreary, heavy feeling; and as the music begins it just gets heavier, more dense. When the music has taken you so low you cant picture going much further it explodes with drums and samples.  The sound is repetitive, dreary oppressive post punk that takes you to the brink of desperation and then rips you apart with a battery of explosive noise. The set is interesting and consistent throughout and I am sure to see Cold Cave next time they play.

Cold Cave MP3s
Sex Ads
Our Tears Help The Flowers Grow

Crystal Stilts are on next. This is one of the more talked about NY bands and hypothetically should be a perfect transition between the dreary post punk of Cold Cave and the more upbeat Sixties-influenced Love Is All. In theory that is. The band is combination of Sixties garage sound and Joy Division. They sound really together, the stage show is a bit stoic and for the life of me I don’t understand why they didn’t put the most visually compelling member of the band, the girl garage drummer, up front. But this is not the problem, the problem is this just simply doesn’t work for me. Yes, if some one told me let’s combine Cramps and Joy Division and some Sixties garage I would have probably been really intrigued, but live……let me put it this way: the music is happy but I am ashamed to dance because of the funeral singing, and I cant really grieve or be depressed because of the upbeat soundtrack. I am really confused by this, okay? What should I do? Too depressing to be happy and too happy to be depressing. That said, the singer reminded me of Jim Morrison which is never a bad thing, and their recorded material does works better.

Crystal Stilts MP3
Crippled Croon

Love Is All have been getting pretty big; since the release of their second, much anticipated album A Hun­dred Things Keep Me Up At Night they are not playing small venues, it seems it’s all uphill from here on.  Although this band is heralded as a rising star in the Indie scene, and at this show attracts an overwhelmingly non-alternative looking crowd, I came to see them precisely because they have an amazing early punk spirit and remind me of X-ray Spex and other early in-your-face girl fronted bands. Yet they are good musicians with a polished, sound, and though there is an undeniable Sixties fetish to their music, somehow they manage to still sound raw and new. Love Is All set lasts a bit over 40 minutes  and luckily you can hear it now via a really good audio recording of the whole show on NYCTaper. The set is a mix of old and new songs, with the quirky choice of a Flock of Seagulls cover, it’s upbeat and full of energy and the gray kids finally start to dance. I try to video record the set for the blog but Bowery security actually pull me out and inform me that yes even if it is just for the blog you have to pay to video record at Bowery. Shame that there is not more video because the set is great, but I did get something pretty good and almost complete. Then the show is over, and I walk away completely happy and satisfied and still more in love with their live sets then their (also good) recordings.

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Love is All MP3s
Used Goods (First Album)

Give it Back (New Album)

Love is all Set list:

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01 Wishing Well
02 Give it Back
03 Talk Talk Talk Talk
04 Aging Had Never Been His Friend
05 Last Choice
06 Seasick
07 NYA
08 Busy Doing Nothing
09 I Ran (Flock of Seagulls)
10 Make Out Fall Out Make Up
11 Felt Tip
12 [encore break]
13 New Beginnings

Drop Dead Magazine has been invited by the worlds oldest Horror magazine Fangoria to do a horror music blog.  We are bloody delighted to bring you the Drop Dead Chronicles , The Cutting Edge. You can find this blog on the Fangoria official website . As our first order of business we have uploaded the full first album by our favorite Spanish horror fiends Los Carniceros Del Norte and did an interview with Thorsten of the Fiendforce Records. Presented for your ghoulish pleasure are 3 songs from the Fiendforce Records. We would love to hear what you think about our Horror Music  blog and what you would like up to cover. Please go to directly to Fangoria and make your comments there. Happy Ghoulidays every one!

Fiendforce MP3
Rezurex - Die De Los Muerto
The Other - Lovers Lane
Blitzkid - Terror In The Haunted House

Great news for art punks and weird wave fiends it has just been announced that the second annual Mutant Transmissions Festival will take place in NYC on April 5th and 6th, 2009.

Last years MTF took place in LA and spotlighted a slew of excellent west coast bands as well as some interlopers. This year mutant Transmissions hits NYC which will give a an opportunity for the east coast weirdos to join in the fun. MT is a DIY event and invites local art and music community to get involved in planning and production. The younger crowd is also not excluded since the festival is traditionally an all ages event and every one is embraced with equal id not all together sane enthusiasm. Watch for the line up and updates on Mutant Transmissions Myspace. To join in the fun email mutanttransmissions at gmail dot com.

Spanish Horror Punk, Deathrock super villains Los Carniceros Del Norte have a new album out.To get a taste of their special cult and horror movie influenced sound for your devilish enjoyment is their demo with 13 songs. if you like what you hear get the new album at Working Class Records

Links:

http://loscarnicerosdelnorte.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/loscarnicerosdelnorte

MP3s

English Label Cherry Red  is a bit of a slice of heaven when it comes to Goth, Punk or Psychobilly re-releases and compilations. In resent years among many hard to find material collected and re-released  were  incomparable Dancing Did, fabulous Divine and who is who of Punk and Psychobilly from Adicts to Wasted Youth. Among November releases five albums deserve a special notise. Witness a carer retrospective of Into the Circle, Gothy dream pop. CD features 20 essential tracks that include b-sides and 12′ remixes. Taste Alien Sex Fiend genre hoping, mutated Frankenstein devouring goth, deathrock, punk and techno in equal amounts. This double CD with 14 tracks each, focuses  on b-sides and remixes from ASF 12″ singles. Have you heard, Only meteors are Psychobilly? Well if you want proof here is 5 disc career retrospective. Some essential songs are missing of course but that is to be expected from a band with such a large catalog. Where is Captain Kirk? Spizzenergy got an answer for you. Although they s the first Indy band to chart a number 1 single, their music was hard to find until now. of course we know that you are abscessed with Vincent Price, who isn’t? Here is a final devilish delight a whole, entire cd of Vincent Price voice overs, stories, and radio recordings.

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MP3
Into a Circle - Over And Over (demo)
Alien Sex Fiend - Dead And Burried
The Meteors - The Phantom Rider
Spizzenergi - Where’s Captain Kirk

Link:
Cherry Red Records http://www.cherryred.co.uk/

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It’s been a little over a month since the finish of the Drop Dead Festival 6.  Looking back now it almost seems impossible that we shared five days of perfect madness and music overdose in Portugal. We came from all over the world and we celebrated like there is no tomorrow. As after the festival blues sets in and I begin to miss the hell out of friends who live way to far for me too visit, here is a bit of a pick me up. Please enjoy a first installment of out Drop Dead Family Album. ! Please send us your photos, videos and experiences from the DDF to dropdeadmagazine at gmail.com!

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13th moon photo  by Pedro Polonio httpclub-silencio.blogspot.com,