Why Mr Emperor, what's that you're wearing?

[djpsyche]

I haven't regularly DJed EBM/Electro in about six months or so. But I have a couple of guest gigs coming up where I'll once again be able to, so I've been boning up on the new releases. And I have to say:

What happened to the good songs??

You know, songs with actual melodies in them. Songs that you're still humming hours later, or days, or even six months later. I've gone through five "new stuff" compilations and there are maybe three tracks total that stand on their own, that do more than just have an "OK this won't kill the floor" sound to them. And I can't play an entire set of Glis.

What happened? Where are the songs? Did all song crafting in EBM die after "Welcome to Earth"? Perhaps that's why the DJs seem to continue playing the Best of 2001 over and over again. Nothing better, in fact nothing near as good, has been done since. Could it be my selective memory, but where are tracks like "Until the End of the World," "Hooked," "Annie, Would I Lie to You," "Let Go," "Timekiller," "Heretic's Fork," and any VNV Nation tune you could name? What am I missing, anyone care to enlighten me? It doesn't make sense that it would only take EBM a decade to run out of material, hell rock'n'roll has been going for 60 years and still coming up with good choons. If anyone can name me some good recent electronic songs, I'm, er, all ears.

Comments

My, my, my...

[dj-vlad.livejournal.com]

If I wasn't so tired, I could give you a veritable juke box of club stuff. Here's a track (or two) per 'category':

futurepop - Stochastic Theory, "What You Weren't"
(honorable mention) Pride and Fall - "Paragon - club mix"
gothic - Secret Discovery, "Down"
(honorable mention) ASP - "Stille Nacht"
electro - Retrosic, "The Storm"
(honorable mention) Suicide Commando, "Face of Death"

The latest L'ame Immortelle single w/ the Zeromancer mix is also awesome, and the new Oomph does a nice Rammstein, too.

The *real* trick is getting the fickle to dance to something new! ;)

[mrph.livejournal.com]

I think it's just taking a breather while people realise that slavishly copying VNV/APB/Covenant/A23 isn't going to work any more. We'll probably see a burst of something a little different soonish...

I think the best new electro track I've heard recently has been Ayria's "Red Shift" - it's certainly the only one that's lodged in my brain.

[tethis.livejournal.com]

Hmm.. let's see.. from the last year or so I would rate the following:
Rotersand - "Almost Violent" from Truth is Fanatic (much better than "Merging Oceans" which gets overplayed at Slimelight)
Z Prochek - "Here with you" from Intravenous
Z Prochek - "In Despair" from Viewers
Icon of Coil - "Existence in Progress" from Machines are Us
Covenant - "Call the Ships to Port" from Northern Light

One word...

[anarcha.livejournal.com]

Seabound

[sheepthief.livejournal.com]

Seabound, Namnambulu, Ayria. But, yeah.

[maxinemogadon.livejournal.com]

Pzychobitch! also Glis, Pride and Fall, Seabound, [:SITD:], Razed in Black, that Ronan remix of Faithless, new Icon of Coil...

[trauma-pet.livejournal.com]

Most of it sounded too samey and similar to Ibiza stuff in the end. Try trauma pet:P j/k seriously I found the same thing, it went a bit pear shaped as far as I can see...I got an overdose of samey beats, samey sounds and the same bland germanic male vocals over and over again...

[interrogation.livejournal.com]

What happened? Where are the songs? Did all song crafting in EBM die after "Welcome to Earth"?

Good God, I really don't know. Come to think of it, I haven't heard virtually anything that has caught my ear in the way of EBM since.. well, 2001.

Then again, maybe I'm just out of the loop.

"The kind of music you're making died in 1994, James! Blah blah blah.."

Hello, Pot. My name is Kettle. You are black. ;)

[interrogation.livejournal.com]

Ooh wait! Scratch that!

What about "Thin Victory" by 51 Peg? They're one of the new FD! bands with a very catchy, danceable, well-produced sound that reminds me somewhat of the early Alchemy days.

The new full-length album "Esc/Ctrl" is available to order, and I have a copy of the "Thin Victory" single.. I'd be happy to mail it to you if you want..