We Have A Technical

On this discussion topic driven episode of We Have A Technical, we're talking about the vague catchall term or genre that is "electro", at least in the European usage of the term. How and why is it that so many different bands from differing genres like EBM, dark electro, and electro-industrial all ended up heading in the same smoother direction at the same time? What are its defining features? Does it have a future? We're talking about all of these issues, plus offering our thoughts on the current Artoffact/Kanga discourse on this episode of the podcast.

After a bonanza of interviews we're back to what brought us to the dance: talking about goth and industrial records. One apiece, in fact as Suspiria's hybridizing of second wave goth rock and electro goth splits the Senior Staff, and they look back at powernoise's flirtations with other outlying electronic genres via Noisex. We're also talking about the recent discussion regarding the reissuing of a Mr.Kitty remix, plus a couple of exciting new festivals.

A trio of interviews (which we'd like to think nicely cover the breadth of our coverage here) wraps up with a conversation with Isaac Howlett of Empathy Test. Catching up with Isaac amidst the band's first headlining tour in North America, we were keen to get his thoughts about the band's reach across demographics, the benefits of being a DIY outfit, and leaving your heart permanently on your sleeve. 

We're happy to be joined on this week's episode by Ian Ross of Flesh Field, on the eve of the release of Voice Of The Echo Chamber, the band's first new LP in nearly twenty years. Ian had plenty of thoughtful and considered things to say about the embracing of guitars on the record, his compositional process, and the record's theme of violent radicalization. In addition, we're also talking about the recent platforming of bigotry on Brian Graupner's podcast. 

For this month's commentary podcast, we're looking back at Light Asylum's stunning 2012 self-titled debut (and to this date only) LP. Linking darkwave to a whole slew of other sounds and genres, it's still a remarkably varied listen, though of course unified by the singular presence of Shannon Funchess' vocal power, charisma, and emotion. 

We're joined by Ringfinger on this week's podcast to talk about the Vancouver duo's rapid emergence as one of the most highly touted new darkwave bands in North America. We talk balancing synth and guitars, the strict rules underpinning their live shows, and the formatting choices which shaped their excellent debut LP, In A Black Frame. All that plus some chat about Skinny Puppy's unexpected Polaris award win.

Our recurring Pick Five format always gives us the opportunity to take larger or more lateral views of records, and that's what we're doing today as we each pick five album covers which communicate something of import about the record itself. From easily identifiable genre markers to individual artists' aesthetics to broader artistic movements, this ended up being a rolling conversation through a whole host of the bands and styles we love to dig into here at We Have A Technical. All that plus the troubling news coming out of Bandcamp land this week.

We're using our classic two albums format to discuss records we hadn't previously heard (as well as keep our Oktoberfest run of German bands going), namely the debut LP by Das Ich and the most recent outing from Armageddon Dildos. Also, chatter about a couple of festival lineups with a crossover/mainstream and deep scene focus, respectively. 

Our classic two album format gives us the chance to talk about Cannibal Anthem, a middling record from :wumpscut: in the grey period in that project's trajectory, and A Sign Of Life, a stunning statement of return from Neuroticfish. We're also using the recent announcement of a Ministry/Numan/FLA tour as an opportunity to imagine what we owe to younger versions of ourselves. 

For our 475th episode, the Senior Staff are quizzing one another as to their own history with I Die: You Die. That is to say, we've each grabbed passages from reviews the other wrote years back, and seeing if the original author can identify the records they were writing about. We're hoping it'll be a chance to think about what has and hasn't changed in terms of our understanding of specific moments and artists within Our Thing. We're also throwing some roses Debby Friday's way, and talking Cold Waves FOMO.

For this month's commentary podcast we asked our patrons which release by Aussie enfents terrible The Birthday Party they'd like us to discuss, and 1982's Junkyard was the resounding answer. We're talking about how the record captures a band which forever seemed on the verge of collapsing inward upon itself, the emergence of the themes and fixations which have gone on to define the next forty years of Nick Cave's art, grooves, spasms, Americana, Shakespeare, and oh so much more.

The aesthetics of cringe, that is to say, the reasons why people within and without darker music are likely to view certain examples of it as profoundly embarrassing or amateurish, is the subject of this week's podcast. The Senior Staff end up talking about social identity, our perceptions of quality, and how and why goth and industrial music are specifically judged, fairly or unfairly. We also have some talk about recent sets from Ms.Boan and Nuovo Testamento.

Records by Noise Unit and Prager Handgriff are prompting Bruce and Alex to get into the weeds regarding cross-pollination of EBM sub-genres, foreshadowing of artists' future directions, and what is often overlooked when genres are looked back upon historically. Also, do we know as much about the Euro fest scene as our dogpiling on it would suggest? 

It's one of our vaunted Pick Five episodes this week, with Alex and Bruce each asking "How'd this get here?" That is to say, they're both selecting some artists whose inclusion within the worlds of darker alternatives might be puzzling to outsiders, or even themselves, at least initially All that plus a little bit of the "what are your first memories of Band X?" game so often featured on Bombers.

We’re talking about Flesh Field’s Viral Extinction and Project Pitchfork’s Inferno on this week’s episode of the podcast, records which pushed dark electro into a denser, cyber-orchestral direction and into moody, prog-rock influenced territory respectively. We’re also talking about Edmonton’s recent Purple City fest, plus the announcement of new music from the aforementioned Flesh Field.

Released in 1991 to critical and commercial success, supergroup Electronic's debut LP was Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr's opportunity to break from the respective legacies of New Order and The Smiths and run headlong into contemporary dance culture, but as the Senior Staff are arguing in this month's commentary podcast, it's always been less than the sum of its parts and incapable of measuring up to its dance music contemporaries. Bring some tequila, because this We Have A Commentary gets salty.

Bruce and Alex are home from their respective trips, and are getting back in the swing of things by releasing the interview they conducted with longtime IDUD faves Ashbury Heights at Terminus Festival. A congenial conversation that touches on the entirety of the catalogue, the current live incarnation of the band, and what the future may hold, the Senior Staff were incredibly pleased to get this opportunity to chat with them on the occasion of their first ever North American performance. All that, plus some catching up on and chatter about recent live shows to boot!

Welcome to In Conversation, a fill-in/bonus format podcast series wherein each of the Senior Staff invites a friend to sit in for some casual chat about shared interests relevant to the normal goings on at I Die: You Die. This week, Bruce is talking with author Bess Lovejoy about their shared experiences in 90s Vancouver goth clubs, Bess' work in death studies and death positivity, and the distinction between the gothic and the just plain morbid.

Welcome to In Conversation a fill-in/bonus format podcast series wherein each of the Senior Staff invites a friend to sit in for some casual chat about shared interests relevant to the normal goings on at I Die: You Die. This week, Alex has a jaw with longtime friend of the site Evilyn13 about DJing, twitch streaming, the world of cosplay, dogs eating our microphones during the recording, and so much more! Thanks for tuning in, we think this is a really fun one. 

Four days, thirty acts, one venue, countless pints of 88 Brewing's Wave Pool IPA, two very exhausted but happy podcasters. In one of our favourite annual traditions, we're discussing all of the acts running the gamut from synthpop to goth rock to doom rap to EBM who graced our beloved Terminus Festival this past weekend at Calgary. Please note that written coverage at the site is on hiatus until the 21st as we're both away on family trips, but we'll have a pair of specially formatted podcast episodes on the next two Thursdays to tide you over.