#IF YOU CAN NAME THE BEST ALBUM BY CLAN OF XYMOX

[butchratchettruther]

Maybe you should calm down and listen to gothic yard sale by kibble

[schnuron]

2024's albums I like [November 9th, 2024]

It's hard to keep up listening to music that's up-to-date or looking at the new releases in music websites such as Bandcamp, Bleep, Pitchfork, etc.

I'm picky when it comes to choosing the albums I like to listen to. Metal and rock don't excite me so much in 2013 as I keep growing up as a Millennial. Darkwave, ambient and some electronic music are my current obsession. Even though, I'm passable about the rock music, I'm not very enthusiastic of it.

I haven't mentioned the other albums here, but I don't think the ones from Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Coldplay or Glass Animals were the best albums they did. If you enjoy and like those albums, that's okay.

If I have something new to post a thread about the newest albums in December, I'll do it. You guys are welcome to share yours.

I wanted to post this thread a little a bit early before this year ends. In no particular order, these are the ones I've been listening to in 2024:

- Darkwave: Profit Prison - Gilt <3 Dead Astronauts - Ghosts Feyleux - Midnight Hearts Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She Sixth June - Stay! <3 Sydney Valette - The Healer Filmmaker - Grim Encoders

Electronic music: Erika de Casier - Still Charli XCX - BRAT Bat For Lashes - The Dream of Delphi Skee Mask - Resort Uboa - Impossible Light Kelly Lee Owens - Dreamstate Wrong Organ - Mouthwashing OST Old Amica - For alltid (ambient) alva noto - HYbr:ID III (ambient) The Green Kingdom - Arcadian (ambient) / Horizons (ambient)

Other: Cigarettes After Sex - X's The Cure - Songs of a Lost World

Honorable mentions / the albums that were okay: Matte Blvck - Vows (Dark Electro / Darkwave?) Black Nail Cabaret - Chrysanthemum (Darkwave) Filmmaker - Land of Hidden Variables (Darkwave-ish with noise) Embedded Figures - 6 Lovers EP (Darkwave) Echoberyl - Through the Chaos (Darkwave) Glaring - Hope (Darkwave) Mark E Moon - Resist (Darkwave) TR/ST - Performance (Darkwave / Synthpop) Thief - Bleed, Memory (Darkwave / Experimental) [Prophecy Productions] Pink Milk - Night on Earth (Darkwave / Shoegaze) Clan Of Xymox - Exodus (Darkwave / Goth Rock) Selofan - Animal Mentality (Post-Punk) Disintegration - Shiver in a Weak Light (Post-punk / Synthpop) Male Tears - Paradisco (New Wave / Synthpop) Witch of the Vale - 100 Ways to Leave, Vol.1 Tomo Akikawabaya - The Castle II (Darkwave and Minimal wave) Sofi Tukker - BREAD Houses of Heaven - Within/Without Owen - The Falls of Sioux Soft Kill - Escape Forever Goat - Goat Ritchot Textiles - i Union of Knives - Start from the Endless Toby Driver - Raven, I Know that You Can Give Me Anything Jamie xx - In Waves Porter Robinson - SMILE! :D Snow Strippers - Night Killaz, Vol. 2 Arooj Aftab - Night Reign Ulver - Locusts Florrie - The Lost Ones Kat Von D - My Side of the Mountain (Synthwave / Synthpop) Donny Benet - Infinite Desires (Italo-Disco / Synthpop) The Fauns - How Lost (Dream Pop / Shoegaze) Golden Apes - Our Ashes at the End of the Day Blue Oyster Cult - Ghost Stories MAX - LOVE IN STEREO Vince Staples - Dark Times Tommy Richman - COYOTE Slash - Orgy of the Damned Vampire Weekend - Only God was Above Us Lo Moon - I Wish You Way More than Luck Keaton Henson - Somnambulant Cycles (Classical) Whores - War The KVB - Tremors Judas Priest - Invincible Shield Photay - Windswept Thou - Umbilical Julian Lage - Speak to Me Julia Holter - Something in the Room She Moves Habitants - Alma Artemas - yustyna Micah Dailey-White - Micah sleepmakeswaves - It's Here, But I have no Names for it Iglooghost - Tidal Memory Exo GENDEMA - sassy things Skee Mask - D John Grant - The Art of the Lie Four Tet - Three Sega Bodega - Dennis Kacy Hill - BUG Lucy Rose - This ain't the Way you Go Out Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism Ravyn Lenae - Bird's Eye Ariana Grande - eternal sunshine Sabrina Carpenter - Short N Sweet FLETCHER - In Search of the Antidote Tusks - Gold Kali Uchis - ORQUIDEAS Mary Lattimore and Walt McClements - Rain on the Road Gruff Rhys - Sadness Sets Me Free Kaelan Mikla / Bardi Johannsson - The Phantom Carriage OST Allie X - Girl with No Face (Synthpop) L'Ame Immortelle - Ungelebte Leben (EBM / Synthpop) Kim Gordon - The Collective Artemas - pretty Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn into You: Everasking Edition Tyla - Tyla Squarepusher - Dostrotime Fred again.. - USB / ten days Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project Nadine Shah - Filthy Underneath Jacob Collier - Djesse Vol. 4 BUNT. - Levi Don't Do Bolis Pupul - Letter to Yu Hudson Mohawke / Tyga - L'Ecstasy SENTRIES - Snow as a Metaphor for Death Elbow - Audio Vertigo Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood Patricia Taxxon - Bicycle VR SEX - Hard Copy Jlin - Akoma FLETCHER - In Search of the Antidote Kelly Moran - Moves in the Field (Piano music) Future Islands - People Who Aren't There Anymore KMFDM - LET GO ULTRA SUNN - US Kali Uchis - Orquideas Bill Ryder-Jones - Iechyd Da Marika Hackman - Big Sigh Kinoteki - Faith and the Vessel Bad Omens - CONCRETE JUNGLE [THE OST] Locrian - End Terrain Bring Me The Horizon - Post Human: NeX GEn Machinedrum - 3FOR82 Astrid S - Joyride Twenty One Pilots - Clancy (G)I-DLE - 2 Xiu Xiu - 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips Shygirl - Club Shy Meat Beat Manifesto / Merzbow - Extinct Tyler, The Creator - CHROMAKOPIA Machine Girl - MG Ultra James Woods / Shooter Jennings - Hear the Thunder Crack Ockeroid - Crow Country OST Maruja - Connla's Well EP Mega Drive - Memory Disc EP Machine Girl - SUPER FREQ EP Greyhaven - Stereo Grief EP Sleeping Rabbits - Breathing Room EP

Ambient: Pye Corner Audio - The Endless Echo Lustmord - Much Unseen Is Also Here The Body / Dis Fig - Orchards of a Futile Heaven SUSS - Birds & Beasts Nonkeen - All Good? Nils Frahm - Day Jogging House - Rendezvous Alora Crucible - Oak Lace Apparition Scanner - Alchemeia Duncan Ritchie - Lords of Wolves OST Faded Cloak - Wrapped in Fog and Freezing Mist Polypores - There Are Other Worlds Disasterpeace - Standstill Steve Moore - Eye of Horus Field Lines Cartographer - Portable Reality Generator Actress - Statik Mark Van Hoen - Plan for a Miracle Black Brunswicker - A Moment of Clarity EP

[cnox]

Rowen for Distant Mirror Zine #1.* ROWEN is a project between Cristahel and Cantrith Knox. They play a subgenre of the dark ambient / dungeon synth movement they call Mythical Electronic. They have years of experience and also operate Hollow Myths in New England. I thank them for their contribution to the first issue of Distant Mirror. First, Rowen is a collaborative effort between Canrith and Cristahel Knox - do you have specialties which you like to focus on when creating (someone runs the drums and arrangement, someone finds the melodies)?

Eve, Thanx for the interview. We both play synths, drum machines and write together.  As of now, when playing live, Criss handles the synths, vocal whisperings and I play the electronic drums. Along with our visuals, fog and lighting. We are introducing more vocals on some new songs. In the studio, we also add our field recordings and percussion as part of composing. We sit and mix each song side by side.    

Tell us about your musical histories before forming Rowen, because its somewhat obvious you both have experience which maybe led to the result of what Rowen is on "Ashen Spirit"!

Both of us have electronic music in our past. Cristahel with Minimal Synth and I with Darkbeat. One of the first ideas we had for Rowen was to start all over. As part of the experiment, finding ourselves and each other through making music anew. See and hear our music become it's own entity. We started developing the concept in '14, in '16 we began recording and had our first release in '18. We set out with a clear vision of what we want to do with Rowen.

Also tell us how you discovered music and what your first true love in music was... How did you come to find music that would lead you to this underworld of music culture?

Canrith: I discovered music on a radio at age 3. First, second and third grade, I would stay up nights crashing on Ritalin (due to being diagnosed as Hyperactive) watching the first ever music videos on a UHF channel in Colorado called FMTV which predated MTV by a year or two. Laurie Anderson - O Superman, Kraftwerk, Barnes & Barnes - Fish Heads videos all had a great impact on me as a kid. During that time, late 70's - early 80's, I was hooked on the music and image of both Kiss and Devo. One of the first albums I owned was AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap on cassette that I purchased at K-Mart. Summer '81 NYC, I saw the first video air on MTV. Later, watching another UHF channel out of Boston called V66. Heavy Metal led me to the Black Metal and the dark electronic music underground. Dark Ambient and Dark Dungeon Music have always been a particular interest of mine. Mail order distro tapes and free box extras in orders started my collection as far back as the mid 90's. In the late 90's, I got really into BM, then obsessed in '03 onward, as many UGBM labels and distros were rising on the web. We are also into Minimal, Martial, Electro, Techno, New Beat, Cosmic, Italo, 8-bit, Video Game, Soundtrack, Old School Dungeon Synth, Winter Synth and so on...

Cristahel: My first exposure to music as a child was through my grandfather, who began teaching me to play classical piano by ear at the age of four. We would sit for countless hours at his black upright Steinway as he would play Chopin, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky etc. a few measures at a time for me to memorize and string together until I had the whole piece memorized. His love and enthusiasm for music, and the time he took to develop that in me, is something I will always be grateful for. Also my cousin Sue was a few years older than me and was like some kind of magical mixtape faerie, forever bestowing masterfully crafted gems upon me filled with things like Lush, Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, and Mazzy Star that served to mold/blow my little mind.  

By my late teens it was the late 90's/early 2000's and I was immersed in a maelstrom of kraut/prog, electro, early new wave and electronic/industrial, shoe gaze. I was fortunate at the time to have a lot of friends with varied tastes and massive record collections they wanted to share with me, because back then there was like, only Napster to try and download music off this nebulous internet thing they had just invented.  

I spent a lot of time not doing my homework and dancing around my room on speed and/or klonopins listening to things like Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Miss Kittin & The Hacker, Dopplereffekt, Chris and Cosey, SPK, early Human League, Slowdive, Clan of Xymox... all of which in their own ways began to inform the atmosphere of the music I create now, warped and haunted meandering electronic melodies, analog synths, string machines and rhythm boxes, pounding 303s and 808s, tape echoes, analog delays, layered sounds lost in chasms of reverb...

I moved to NY and started making music, playing shows and djing a bit (mostly playing gabber techno synth new age sets at London squat parties to kids who wanted to hear nu rave), getting into minimal synth, and beginning my love affair with collecting and recording with analog equipment.

Of course now anything you want is available immediately online, compared to how the 80’s and 90’s crowd discovered music. I’ve asked the other artists a similar question - how do you feel about the loss of mystery these days and what will happen in the future to return to that?

I feel the ability for creating mystique is greater now thanx to the internet. Almost anyone can record some music, upload it to bandcamp, make artwork, physical releases, open an online shop, start a label, etc..   If one is good at what they do, be it a hidden persona or being a face, presenting a strong sound, image and aesthetic, either way, when done right, it works. In some ways even mystery can be a gimmick.

You both are lucky to have grown up in the best time period for music. But what about movies and books people should check out?  

I collect children's books, read a mess of olde and new Black Metal zines, Books about Black and Death Metal. Sexy comics about Vampiress and Faeries. Presently reading The Devil's Cradle, a hard back about The Story of Finnish Black Metal. It was a gift from Criss. Everyone should read Lords of Chaos '98 (then '03) and Lucifer Rising '99. I still need a copy of that leather bound Mortiis - Secrets Of My Kingdom book '01.

As for films, we watch obscure horror, foreign horror and documentaries.  

Here are some if you have not already read or watched them; 

Read: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs ('78) James and the Giant Peach ('61) Masquerade ('79) The World of the Dark Crystal ('82) The Book of Alien ('79) Moebius - The Collected Fantasies of Jean Giraud Series ('87 - '94) Flowers in the Attic - Dollanganger Series ('79 -'86) Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo ('78) William Klein: Films, 1958-99 ('99) Wreckers of Civilisation: The Story of Coum Transmissions & Throbbing Gristle ('99)

Watch: Christiane F. ('81) Out of The Blue ('80) Deadbeat at Dawn ('88) Combat Shock ('86) Street Trash ('87) Brain Damage ('88) Zardoz ('74) Excalibur ('81) Emerald Forest ('85) Wicker Man ('73)

If atmosphere seems to be a heavy orientation for your creative drive, is your local landscape an important part of this? or is it personal experiences driving the music towards such a dark and melancholy place? something about Rowen is both light and dark.

We live on a island North East New England and seldom see others. Most of our time is spent outside, alone with the wind, the trees, on the marsh, in the mist and rain, sea side mornings, hawks at dusk and in the woods every evening. Pretty, evil and sad is what we do. We are hoping folks will also consider us in the Nature Synth category.  

New England must be a very interesting place to live... what is your favorite time of year there, and what is your favorite part of the landscape there?

We love the woods, day hikes, mountain tops, swimming holes, water falls, gorges and quarries. Small towns, old houses, fields, orchards, pumpkin patches, bonfires. Train tracks, trestles, towers, castles, monuments and graveyards. I was born in October so naturally I love the fall. Hallow's Eve and all into November.  Leaves turn, death comes and things change. There is nothing like a cold moonlit night in the snow. I appreciate being where we can really experience all four seasons.

Also You are so fortunate to live on an island.. That’s amazing. It’s cliche to talk about misanthropy with dark music but is this the reason for being secluded? What do you feel is the best thing for people could do with themselves in (what is in my eyes the end of the world?)

We made the decision to come here for a time of research, get to know each other, talk about our dreams, foster our ideas. Focus on only that of which we love and gives us purpose. Live away from it all.  If everyone did what was the most important to them, a different world this might be.  

Rowen is listed among other trees in occult literature as a tree of magical powers... Is this the reason for using the name? Is there personal beliefs at play in Rowen?

As a band we have our own ideologies, as musicians, our own theories, as artists, our own creative processes and as members, a belief system. These are shared between us and are expressed through the music, words and imagery of Rowen.

The Greeks, Norse, Celts and Druids all told mythology of the properties and significance of this mystical tree. The Greek Goddess of youth who lost her magical chalice to the demons. An eagle was sent to retrieve it. From battle, it's blood splatter on the earth grew Rowan trees. It's leaves as feathers, it's berries, the blood. The Norse myth speaks of the tree from which woman was made. And man, from a mountain ash. Saved Thor in the underworld. Runes are burned on Rowan wood. In the British Isles they tell of the folkloric tree which protects against witchcraft. The red berries of fall make up the 5 points of the Pentagram. Goes also as the Goddess or Faerie tree. The Druids used the bark and berries to dye the garments worn during lunar ceremonies black. Rowan twigs were used for divining, particularly for metals.

I had no idea the importance of Rowen to ancient people. Yes, it is true that Norse belief teaches humans were originally trees before given life and awareness by Odin, Vili and Ve. Is there any interest for you both to express your philosophy on things in the music or is this an affair of escapism and pure magic.

"The Past is not Dead, it lives on in a Woeful Drift." We are connected to our roots, our family trees, where we came from, our heritage and lands. We could only hope that our music would offer an escape. Magic is the only way.

If you could live in any time period, what time period would you live in and what would you be doing?

Canrith: I feel lucky to have been a child of the 70's and we grew up in the 80's, 90's & 00's. We were there, I wouldn't change it. I would love to live in some medieval castle in the mountains, riding a black Clydesdale, wielding a mace, reeking havoc across the land.  

Cristahel: Same as Canrith but on a white Clydesdale with a halberd.

What's the most important part of the creative process for Rowen - is there a certain revelry for using old mysterious pieces of synthesizers or do you enjoy the vast possibilities of computers? There's always the game of analog vs computer in the electronic scenes, what is your thoughts on this?

For us, again, the most important part of the process is the experiment. We use all analog synthesizers, drum machines and record live. Roland, Korg, Yamaha. Same goes for our stage show. We have used and are not opposed to using digital synths on recordings and live. Casio & Yamaha synths, Simmons drums. For instance, "In Another Dream, You Were Mine" from "Ashen Spirit" was made almost entirely on a Casiotone. We record and mix on a desk top home computer.  

What are you both really enjoying listening to at the moment?

Listening to cult 80's video Game music on YouTube while answering these questions.

do you have any thoughts on where this rising momentum will lead as far as the dungeon synth genre is headed, and do you feel proud of your place in that? am i wrong in assuming you both also run Hollow Myths?  

We are proud of our place in DS. Though we set out to make our own mythical electronic music. And think the genre is progressing as it should. We have been very active in the scene going on six years now this November. As supporters, label, distro and band. We are most appreciative of the support we have received. And from the Black Metal Underground. Our first demo was released on pro-tape by Personnel Records, a sub-label of Seedstock Records ran by Marco Del Rio of Raspberry Bulbs aka He Who Crushes Teeth of Bone Awl. We are finishing our second release that will be out on CD & Cassette this time.  

Hollow Myths, the label and distro, is the work of us two. Releases, artwork, layouts, Photography, bios, press, promo, videos, zine, jewelry, leather work, patches, we also offer clothes that we call Cryptic Raiment for After Dark. Official Dungeon Synth, Dark Ambient, Black Metal, Hollow Myths* Shirts, Long Sleeves, Hoods, Record Bags, Altar Cloths...

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Hollow Myths has had to dig deep into the underground and re-release old gems, which is like reissuing from the archives.. many people don’t really appreciate that, can you tell us about what that’s been like and if anything else like that will ever happen?  

Hollow Myths* have re-released limited special versions of cult classics in a row of how I first discovered them back when. Being also from Dallas, TX, Equitant - The Great Lands Of Minas Ithil (City Of Isildur) '94 was one the first tapes I owned of the genre (and our first release from H/M* on cassette) after I found a copy of the Mournlord - Reconquering Our Kingdom Demo from '95 (SE) for a $1 in a bargain bin. These strange and very limited cassette releases helped crystallize what Dark Dungeon Music was to me. Like hearing the Caduceus - Middle Ages Demo '95 (LT) for the first time or later with the Corvus Neblus - Chapter I & II - Strahd's Possession tapes from '99 / '01 (LV). Our second re-released offering was Equimanthorn - Entrance To The Ancient Flame on cassette, another Texas born Ritual Black Ambient project with both Equitant and Proscriptor of the Mythological Occult Metal band Absu as members. After which, we made a chain of very special limited re-releases from; Gothmog, Depressive Silence, Solanum, Lunar Womb, Cain, two from Aperion, Arthur as well as Xerión with more to come. At the same time, we have introduced many new Dungeon Synth artists, some with their follow ups; Isåedor, Wyver and Wizzard to name but a few. We began in '16 and have 43 releases to date. Some mentioned above will see second pressings in the near future.

What has been your favorite release to work on this past year and what sort of artists does Hollow Myths look for?

We focus on outsider music and art and put our blood, sweat and tears into every release. Since we are primarily a physical label and distro (Tapes, CD's, Vinyl, Merch, etc.), it has been interesting to curate and mix the last three Shadowlore Compilations.

Each run over 2 hours long and feature new and exclusive songs by legions of Dungeon Synth artists from around the world. Being Digital, we offer it for Free or name your price for those who want to add it to their collections. Corresponding J-card "tape trade" layout print outs are included in the download, so one can make their own 2x cassette version. To be shared with friends, to inspire tape trading, for more reach and exposure for the artists' projects. Shadowlore Four will be released this Summer Solstice.  

Other releases from last year we are very proud of: Apeiron - Stardust / A Separate Reality. Cosmic / Dark Ambient / Black Metal from Austria. '95 & '97 and featuring a never before heard hidden track from '96 titled "Dimensional Chanting" exclusive only to this release. Xerión - O Espírito Da Fraga / O Trono de Breogán. Black Metal / Dark Ambient from Spain. The first two demos from '01 & '02 with 3 new songs recorded exclusively for this release including a Windir cover.  Galician Mythology and Folklore. Wyver -  Tragedies of Lost Village (Demo II). Dungeon Synth / Fantasy Music follow up. (PDX) Hypogeum - S/T. Introducing outsider, Raw Black Metal from the woods of Oregon. Wizzard - The Cauldron Descent. Cryptic Dungeon Synth follow up from Sweden. Morihaus - The Empty Marches. Eccentric Dark Ambient / Dungeon Synth debut from Kentucky.  

Tell us about Rowen’s plans to start touring.

We just played our first show at the Northeast Dungeon Siege MMXIX festival. Now we are working on piecing together a tour that will begin this summer in the north east coast with the plan to then head down, across the south to California, up the west coast, pacific northwest and back across the north and through the mid-west to return late fall. We recently put the word out that we are up to perform anywhere, anytime and received an overwhelming response. If we can get on tour, stay on tour, get back to Europa without haste, we would be more than pleased.

The first two shows will be outdoor camping events. Mythical Electronic, Dungeon Synth, Black Metal, Acoustic Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom, Crust, Folk, Country, . . . Both are on private land, in the forest and BYOB. Bring a tent, water, food and supplies. Crossbows and throwing knives.

Rowen   Seasons of the Savage at The Sonorous Glade June 22nd Topsham, VT w/ Haxen, Sombre Arcane, Fed Ash, Gorcrow, Melkor, Black Axe, Void Bringer, Acid Roach and Wild Leek River  

Rowen   Woods of Gallows II August 17th  West Chazy, NY w/ T.O.M.B., Worthless, Sombre Arcane, Ordeals, Malacath, Lightcrusher, Hræsvelgr, Graveren and Callous