Sudden Voices – I Knew You At Once

by Louise Jaunet

You’ve probably never heard about the band Union Wireless. Actually, neither had we, until we found out about, through a happy accident, the new project, Sudden Voices, launched by Ben Morris, a reborn artist from the ashes of his unknown flying project from the 1990s after a long hiatus. This new London-based group keeps the experimental aspect of the previous space jazz band and refines its improvisational krautrock side inspired by Faust, while making the melodies more accessible by summoning a sort of spiritual hope in the chanted vocals and choirs, evoking the “Spirit of Eden” of Talk Talk.

For the video of the new track “I Knew You At Once,” Ben Morris uses Midjourney, an AI-image generator platform launched in 2022 as “an independent research lab exploring new mediums of thought and expanding the imaginative powers of the human species.” You’ve probably already crossed paths with this new art form through your scrolling machines, as the growing trend of this AI program notably gained attention by generating photos of Pope Francis wearing a fancy white puffer coat, of Donald Trump being arrested, or of French President Emmanuel Macron working as a garbage collector. Despite being fake, it’s hard to underestimate the fact that these randomly widespread pictures hold the potential to somehow reflect some accurate ideas we all hide in the back of our collective unconscious mind.

The video created by Ben Morris feels like a visit to an AI art gallery, like a selective reconceptualization of the history of visual art from Hieronymus Bosch, Botticelli, Leonardo, Velasquez, Goya, Turner, Picasso, and even Richard Avedon. Most artists might think that art generated by AI will lead to the devaluation of human achievements, but the new collaboration between humans and AI in the world of art is here to stay. It can’t be stopped and it will continue to shape the way we think about art and aesthetics for years to come. Like a single living entity that contains all beings and knows you at once, the act of creation in itself is an attempt to enter a mysterious realm. Set your biases aside, read between the lines of code, and look at the work in its own terms, as if it was made solely by a human, not a machine. Art has always been a portal to the unseen world. Space will still be the place.

Psych-Rock / Rock / Surf

Hot Garbage – Mystery

by Louise Jaunet

There are many optical illusions that we encounter on a daily basis without being identified as such. The perception of these kinds of impossible objects follows an unusual path and the person who perceives it is aware that something is happening in their brain, to the point of creating a new aesthetic of the world in their mind.To help launch its second album Precious Dream to be released on 19 January 2024 via Mothland and Exag’ Records, the quartet from Toronto Hot Garbage has just released the second single “Mystery,” a cathartic and powerful psychedelic track that echoes the garage beginnings of Osees or the spooky songs of Frankie and the Witch Fingers, and plays with this concept.

Produced by Graham Walsh (METZ, Preoccupations, Holy Fuck, !!!), this new track recalls the fuzzed-out riffs of A Place To Bury Strangers or the twisted, nightmarish surf rock accents of The Cramps. For anyone familiar with the band’s catalogue, Hot Garbage opens the doors to a whole new world, revealing part of the extremely complicated operation we call “seeing.”

Directed by Nika Belianina and Michael Goodin, the Lynchian video is constructed as a strange, oniric and absurd stroll through a funhouse where we meet a stellar fairy, a crazy penguin, and a diabolical deer, like a sort of construction of three people wrapped into one. You’re probably going to be skeptical, nobody can build a personality of that kind … could that mean that the mind of a human being is an impossible object? It remains a mystery.

Americana / Dark Americana / Gothic

Rachel Drew – Blaze For You

by Ann Pill

This video is what greenscreens were invented for. This fever dream of epic proportions will make you too want to dance beneath the light of the moon. “Blaze For You” is the kind of song you might expect to hear playing at a showdown at the local saloon. The second single off the upcoming album Summer’s Over is a lot spookier than the title track released earlier this fall. It’s unclear what direction the album will take but the gothic Americana vibes are promising.

Take a listen to the Chicago singer-songwriter’s latest single.

Darkwave / Gothic / Post-Punk

Mark Steiner & His Problems – Hang On (Twin Flames)

by Ann Pill

This Twin Peaks-esque black-and-white nightmare from Mark Steiner is more an art film than a music video. The plot of “Hang On (Twin Flames)” is impossible to follow but that really isn’t a problem. Mark Steiner and his band of Norwegian “problems” deliver blend of distorted guitar and poetry. Moody and gothic with post-punk energy. Think Nick Cave moved to Norway directed by David Lynch.

“Amazing clip! Love it – but I’m worried about you lol!” reads the current comment section of the video.

Give it a watch and you’ll be right there with them.

Dark Pop / Gothic

Chopper – Moongirl (Single Edit)

by Stephan Boissonneault

I’m not the first to say it, but there isn’t enough modern goth rock music coming out anymore. The genre isn’t dead, but it does seem to have retreated into its coffin being held down by the streaming and DSP giants.

But then there’s Chopper, the project of Jonatan K. Magnussen, an artist from Copenhagen, Denmark, whose newest single “Moongirl” feels like a sonic marriage between The Sisters of Mercy, Alice Cooper, and The Cure. A haunting track, with guitar work that screams like a darker Pink Floyd, fantastically styled music video in the graveyard, and Chopper’s shifting vocal techniques, this track is pure darkened ear candy for the next generation of goths. Keep an eye out for Chopper’s forthcoming Shock Pop Vol II EP. But until then, enjoy this absolute treat of a music video.

Avant-Pop / pop psychédélique

Richard E – To the Moon

by Stephan Boissonneault

Richard E, an artist from the UK who makes music under the umbrella of progressive pop, has a new single and video called “To the Moon.” The track feels a bit like the more exploratory work of The Beatles but under a more new wave lens. The video follows this tradition with Richard E (looking like he hosts the hottest art nouveau dance club and gallery in Britain) singing in a hushed and layered tone as images of moons, sporadic shapes, and geometric patterns form in the background. It’s really 80s but also a love letter to chilled-out psychedelia as a whole.

Check out the video below:

Experimental Dream Pop

N NAO – Nos endroits

by Louise Jaunet

Since the release of her experimental dream pop album L’eau et les rêves last spring, N NAO has achieved genuine recognition from the public and the industry thanks to her ritualized, spellbinding, almost mystical performances, even earning herself a place on the prestigious Polaris Prize Long List. The success behind this brilliant audiovisual work is due in particular to her documentary research on fresh water, produced during intimate trips into nature following the recording.

The haptic and intuitively filmed footage led N NAO to poetically follow the light, the reflections and refractions, in an attempt to get closer to an ineffable object, as if a dream was openly playing the game of showing her what she couldn’t yet see. After “La plus belle chose,” “Tout va bien,” “La fin du monde” and “Lac Léman,” N NAO now presents her fifth extract “Nos endroits,” a sensual slow song about a strange love dialogue written during a mutual healing process, dealing with memory and grief in the wake of a loss.

From the subconscious melodies composed on guitar, a gentle vulnerability emerges in her auto-tune-coloured voice, and reveals the intimate thoughts of a precious stone rediscovered in the inner lake of her diary: “I’d like you to remember / The places I take you to.” It seems love is what transcends death.

Synth-Pop / Synthwave

Sir.Daydream – Leap of Faith

by Stephan Boissonneault

Sir.Daydream is a brand-new synthwave artist from the Netherlands with a penchant for a darker-sounding build-up and wall of sound. His music sounds like it would pair nicely with the video game Cyberpunk 2077, or the Blade Runner universe. You can tell he’s definitely a guy obsessed with the kind of tones you can get out with vintage synths VSTS or proper machines like the Arturia 2600. The debut track “Leap of Faith” also contains some new wavy guitar licks for good measure.

Have a listen below:

Cowpunk / Punk Rock / Rock

Matty K – Hard-Luck Parade

by Stephan Boissonneault

Written in response and protest to a controversial Summer hit cowboy song “Try That In A Small Town” by one Jason Aldean—that essentially supported Donald Trump’s hate rhetoric and racism by being filmed outside of Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn. the area was the site of the lynching of an 18-year-old Black teenager and showed images of flag and cross burnings—”Hard-Luck Parade” is a cowpunk tune all about anti-bigotry.

It’s a song we need more than ever now as an air of confusion is quickly consuming America. So who better to lead the charge than Canadian, Matthew Kliewer co-founder of the Fast Romantics?

It’s angsty and similar to another parade hit, “Ramshackle Day Parade” by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros.

Enjoy below:

Psychedelia / Rock

Ruiz! – Stupid Old Git

by Stephan Boissonneault

Falling somewhere in between the hazy psyche vibe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the experimentation of Throbbing Gristle, Ruiz!’s “Stupid Old Git” is as weird as it is catchy. The one-man project from Sheffield uses glitchy organ patches and fuzzed-out guitar lines giving “Stupid Old Git” a dusty, vintage quality as Ruiz’s DIY electro-new wave vocals chew the scenery. Coming with “Stupid Old Git” is a montaged music video of archival film footage of Europe and England in the ’70s. The message of the song is clear; don’t be stuck in your old ways.

“Stupid Old Git is about a stupid old git I once knew. There’s therapy in so many places, you just need to know where to look,” Ruiz! says.

Check out the single and video here:

Contemporary Jazz / Electro-Jazz / Free Jazz

SKNAIL – OUIJA

by Stephan Boissonneault

SKNAIL is a Swiss-based jazz project and pioneer in its field, spearheading a musical trend combining contemporary jazz and minimal electronica. This combo of five virtuoso musicians, all with jazz backgrounds, is about to release its fourth album, entitled Ouija. This new opus evolves through nine tracks mixing acoustic purity, post-electronica vibrations, and oriental sounds with the Oud of the famous Tunisian musician Amine Mraihi.

The real draw of SKNAIL’s Ouija is absolutely the improvisational nature of the Oyd playing off the horns and piano while the drums hold the track together. Check out the live video of Ouija below.

Electro-Jazz / jazz-hop

atelic – Shanti

by Stephan Boissonneault

AI-generated music videos have kind of become all the rage in these past few years, especially concerning instrumental music. One artist who has taken this trend to new heights is Atelic, an instrumental jazz hop producer from Germany who has spent time in Tokyo. Atelic’s music is super cerebral, perfect for zoning out to or if you’re like me, great tp throw on when you’re writing. One of his latest ethereal soundscapes is called “Shanti,” featuring a trippy music video from Kaiber, that looks like it was generated by AI.

“‘Shanti’ takes you on a meditative journey inwards, from a tranquil shore into the chaotic waves of a stormy sea to the waking at a surreal yet peaceful island amidst the clouds. At its core, the song deals with the struggles of finding inner peace despite all chaos and suffering in the world.” – Atelic.

Check it out here: