Laibach to play songs from The Sound of Music in North Korea

This August provacteurs Laibach will be playing a concert in Pyongyang, North Korea.  They have stated that their set will partially consist of four songs from the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, the other part will consist of classic Korean songs.  If you don't know the plot to the Sound of Music, this might only sound a little bit weird, if you do know the plot, it sounds like Laibach will be arrested.  The Sound of Music is about a young nun who leaves the abbey to become governess to a military family.  The family are all vocally gifted and become a singing sensation. All of which sounds fairly innocent, until you find that the story takes place in Austria right before the Nazi Party.  And that the family decides to flee their homeland due to the Nazis, the family then flees on foot through the Swiss mountains.  Songs selected from the Sound of Music to be played in North Korea are Edelweiss, Do-Re-Mi, Climb Every Mountain and the title song The Sound of Music.  Laibach are previewing these songs at their 35th Anniversary/Farewell show in their hometown of Trbovlje, Slovenia on July 4th.  Here's hoping that Laibach have a safe trip to and from North Korea.

Suicide Commando and Jean-Luc DeMeyer "The Pain That You Like"

What if the two biggest EBM bands in Belgium teamed up?  Well, this is the probably the closest we will get. Suicide Commando's new single "The Pain That You Like" features Jean-Luc DeMeyer (Front 242, Modern Cubism, 32 Crash, Cobalt 60,C-Tec) on vocals.  This is the second one off single that DeMeyer has done in two years, last year he was the featured vocalist on Haujobb's "We Must Wait". Out of Line will be releasing an EP of The Pain That You Like in late July.  You can order the deluxe version with T-shirt and vinyl bag from Out of Line direct.
http://www.outoflineshop.de/the-pain-that-you-like-15.html
Or if you are Stateside and just want the CDEP, try our friends Isotank who are offering 10% off on the Pre- Sale  http://www.isotank.com

Leaether Strip's new synth pop project with John Mirland

Claus Larsen (Leaether Strip) and John Mirland (Holm/Mirland) have become a synth-pop duo entitled Am Tierpark.  Their debut album will be released in November via Distortion Productions (Jim Semonik, Chase Dudley).  To learn more about the duo, check the Distortion Productions page
http://www.distortionprod.com/news/ or Am Tierpark Soundcloud soundcloud.com/mirland/am-tierpark-tension

And One Music Videos

In 2014 And One released Trilogie I a three album set.  The albums were dedicated to different facets of the band's sound.  Magnet for synthie-pop, Propeller for EBM and Achtung 80 as an eighties album, the reality is that And One's sound has never been that easily segregated.  So why bring up a 2014 album in 2015?  Because And One has released three videos this year from Trilogie I.  Two from Magnet and one from Propeller, you can watch these videos at AndOneofficial.  https://www.youtube.com/user/ANDONEofficial Their latest video U-Boot-Krieg in Ost-Berlin is directed by Honey from Welle:Erdball.  Honey is also featured in the video.

Haujobb Blendwerk Mid-August 2015

An update to Haujobb's Facebook page is posting Mid-August for Blendwerk. The Negative Gain Productions site is still listing Early 2015.  I'm hoping for Mid-August.  Perfection and We Must Wait are awesome.   https://soundcloud.com/basic-unit-productions

Former Funker Vogt Vocalist Forms New Band with Members of E-Craft

While Funker Vogt was grabbing all the headlines with their choice of new vocalist, former Funker Vogt vocalist Jens Kastel has formed a new band with Guido Henning and Jan Abraham.  The name of the project is The Firm Incorporated and their first EP contains two original compositions "Abgebrannt" (Burnt Down) and "Feuer" (Fire). The EP also contains remixes from Grendel, ES23, Noisex and Ivardensphere.  It is available from Infacted Recordings.

to purchase in North America: http://www.stormingthebase.com/the-firm-incorporated-abgebrannt-cd/   

to purchase in Germany: http://www.poponaut.de/firm-incorporated-abgebrannt-p-13853.html?language=en

Severed Heads to Play Cold Waves IV

That is not a misprint.  Severed Heads will be playing Chicago this September at Cold Waves IV at the Metro. More information about tickets and bands will be released on Wednesday April 15th.  http://www.coldwaves.net/   http://metrochicago.com/    Other bands that have been annonunced are Lead Into Gold, Lustmord, Pop Will Eat Itself, and headliners Frontline Assembly and Godflesh. The event will be held Friday September 25th and Saturday September 26th.  This definitely beats the appearance of the Pope in Philadelphia.