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

Recent Adds:

.

.

.

.

..

.

.

..

..

.

.

.

.

.

.

WFMU is one of the best college radio stations around. they play cut up stuff, obscure bands , noisy experimentation and a lot of other stuff you (sadly) don’t generally expect from proper radio. So every time they do a festival, its a must to be there.They outdid themselves wit h the upcoming event. just look at the line up. No question we will be there covering this event, so if you live too far to be there in person check back here for the full story.

WFMU Music Festival
October 1,2,3
Music Hall of Williamsburg
66 North 6th St., Brooklyn, NY  11211

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

The infamous, despised, stalked, adored, banned, naked, cacophonous Din Glorious have sang their last song. or have they? Allegedly their last show ever, these art-fucked punk electron monsters will be at the Mutant Transmissions Festival II April 3,4,5. To make their departure that more bitter and contested they have also just released a brand new song, its a mash up actually: Din Glorious VS Neros Day at Disneyland. Will the break up be the final nail on the Din grave? Honestly we don’t know but missing their last show at MT@ would be an unforgivable offense against art and, lets be honest, your own better judgment. So see you there. Dress to impress and undress.

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?

Next weekends NY Eye and Ear Festival is totally non genre specific, with the only unifying factor being proximity to NYC and the Do It Your Self attitude. Much like me you might be looking at this line up and not recognize most of the bands or labels so why should you care enough to attend? I’ll give you 4 easy  reasons: discovering new music, supporting independent music and labels, there is surely quality underground darker stuff on the bill you will like, and its a damn cheap ticket (15$ for 2 day festival, am I right?). It’s really a kind of noon brainier but let me illustrate the point about darker or weirder bands of immediate interest to the Drop Dead audience. .On Friday Magick Report, Hells Hills and Realax are experimental electronics,  each interesting its own way, Taigaa! are girl synth wave. Wierd Label and Tesco are both participating with a DJ set from both 1:30 till you fall asleep , so you know that’s going to be good. Saturday is a crazy day with over 20 bands. There is more experimental electronics from  Ben Miller/Degeneration, minimal from Silk Flowers and Xeno & Oaklander, punk Michael Jordan, experimental weirdness of Necking and Zs ambient Infinity Window,  cool laid back  Excepter, and of course post apocalyptic folk Cult of Youth (think Death in June). All these bands and a wholle lota new music you never heard before. See you there punks!

Read more »

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.

9.8 out of 10 New York music fiends and club owners know NYC is total shit for all ages shows. Be it because city officials are consistently waging a war against under 21 venues or because clubs make money from alcohol proceeds and they don’t really fight for the under 21 crowd, NYC 18+ let alone all ages clubs are overwhelmingly a hard gig to find.

But as the old saying goes where there is a will there is a way. There is a thriving DIY all ages scene in New Your City. In the vacuum of proper all ages venues, shows are being booked in everything from music studios, to wear house spaces, even into living rooms. These clubs not being exactly legal it’s a bit tricky to advertise so everything is done mostly through word of mouth, social networks like myspace and free pamphlets and publications like Showpaper.

Last Friday at a benefit for Showpaper at Brooklyn’s Vanishing Point, of course a DIY all ages event, a 6 bands picked up a flag of the original NYC no wavers and raised a banner of New New Sound. The cool thing about the show was the variety of sound, from punk, to tribal world music, to post punk, to 8 bit, to no wave and art punk. Kids at this show stayed for the whole concert, getting into each band, dancing, going generally going crazy being proficient at a serious business of having a good time.

You be the judge bellow: full evidence complete with show videos!

Read more »

It’s no secret that we admire the french electro punks Kap Bambino. Imagine our happy surprise when they actually came to play NYC few month ago. The show was crazy packed, singer Caroline Martial was frantic bouncing around the stage, jumping into the audience, and generally going crazy while  keyboardist Orion Bouvier stayed in the background drinking PBR’s and controlling the machinery. Although sound wasn’t the greatest (maybe because we were right upfront?) the energy of the show more then made up for it. Judge for your self, submitted for your approval here are the photos and a video direct from that show. In addition we included a few of our favorite mp3s from their 2007 album  New Breath from Zero Lite Night Vision.

Photo Gallery: Kap Bambino at the Ruff Club, 8/15/08 NYC

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

..

.

MP3
Kap Bambino New Breath from Zero Lite Night Vision (2007)
Kap Bambino Save from Zero Lite Night Vision(2007)

Video: Kap Bambino in NYC August 15, 2008

Links:
Kap Bambino http://www.myspace.com/kapbambino
Ruff Club: http://www.thehotpink.com/