Glass Eyes – Guidance from Zoology Records on Vimeo.

01 – Visitante
02 – Xaman Ek – Fruto de la Luna
03 – Kujata – End of Wars
04 – Ajahni – Entering the 5th Dimensionars
05 – Mexkline – The 4th Kind
06 – Binasephira – Hadas.Mutil.Hadas
07 – Chronopium – Lucid Wet Dream
08 – Trinaural – M5
09 – Nunca Mas

I can’t tell you the way I feel about this song because the way I feel is all so new to me.

I am sorry that I kept you waiting, but this is a new one from Virgin Blood. I am glad I went to this show back in March at the Multiplex. I am a fairly selfish individual and having this song premiered live to around 50 people kind of blew my mind of what a gift it is sometimes to be part of something so fucking incredibly perfect.

You do not need to be already tripping to say to yourself “what the fuck” after watching this one. Seriously this one is a mind-fuck.

I have been living in the region known as sub-earth for some time now. Living, if you want to call it that. If you come from a home (which I don’t), it is nothing to write home about. It is bleak, calm and nothing ever happens. These songs start off nearly silent in the great tradition of ambient style recordings. Some epic moments for sure. Daniel certainly captured his vision of Inner Earth though and I am pleased to share it like a postcard from nowhere.

Sometimes when I am alone, which is always, I listen to other people’s conversations when out in public amongst the populous. It is the same topics wherever you go. What job you have. What car you drive. Who you are fucking. Same shit over and over.

New video from Mois†. I feel like an insect most days so this glitched cine-photography of insects and nature puts shit in perspective.

Like I said this Motherfucker is taking the Tropical Goth scene by storm. Download this shit!

Sometimes the darkest shit comes in the happiest packaging. Fuck you cruel world! I don’t know why I get up every day for your torture.

A track that should be on their new EP but didn’t make it for one reason or another. Do u still have love for me?

I shall not speak and instead let the music speak for its self.

Lighthouse is one of those bands I wished I would have caught last year when they opened for Light Asylum while I was vacationing in Portland. They certainly capture the essence of Ethereal Goth music as a retrospective analogue snapshot taken with today’s digital camera.

I admire Photographers that still work with real film. If you have the skill set to work in a darkroom then I have great respect for you. Check out Lighthouse and I promise…that you too will feel something spectacular develop.

Have some dates for some upcoming shows:

5/18/13 San Francisco – OK Hole @ Amnesia [TBA]
5/30/13 Portland – Rotture [with YOU(NY)/Tuxedo Gleam(oakland)/Shadowhouse]

††† SAHARAN SPRING †††

Bicep – The Game
ASAP Rocky – Wassup (D. Fine Remix)
Jacques Greene feat. Tinashe – Painted Faces
Duke Dumont – The Giver
Daft Punk feat. Pharrell – Get Lucky
Florian Rietza – Treibhaus (MPathy Remix)
Maya Jane Coles – You
Shlohmo feat. Jeremih – Bo Peep (Do U Right)
Cassie feat. Rick Ross – Numb
Major Lazer feat. Ezra Koenig – Jessica
Drake feat. James Fauntleroy – Girls Love Beyonce
Lapalux – Without You
The xx – Reconsider (Jamie xx Edit)

You have to have balls to show up to SXSW and play a completely experimental set like this guy did. Sincerely digging the visual aesthetic here. This is how I quit crack.

I know some of the purists will not like me posting this. I get all kinds of hate mail each day about the direction I am taking this blog musically. What I should and should not post is constantly pointed out to me. The only thing that stays true is…”I wish I was dead when I hear shit this raw”. That is my creative direction. It is so fucking spiritual for me to hear music in the making. If your instrument is an acoustic guitar and a tambourine then bleed your heart into it and let me post it for others to hear.

I seriously could give sweet F.A. about the deranged psychopath standing about 2 ft away from me on this bus en route to Mt Tabor when I am carrying enough lethal street magic to kill myself 10 fold. I am going to enjoy a view to die for. When I am enjoying it I will be listening to this.

Some dark folk style music that really gets me in the mood for going to the park and sitting underneath a tree in my summer goth attire.

After vacationing in that desert, known as the Coachella Valley, being enveloped in such exquisite music, as well as sweaty gyrating bodies, weed, lust, sun, and dust, it was nice to go to a show at night, in a regular concert venue, to hear and experience Crystal Castles. They played The Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ, 4/24/13, with the Doldrums as their opener.

I’ll try not to be too harsh, but I could’ve done without the Doldrums, who were like a bunch of kids let loose on stage given carte blanche to fuck with the synths, bang on drums, and pretty much make me want to curse the Fates for bringing this “band” into existence to torment my eyes and ears like the Furies tormenting the damned of the underworld. Luckily, the torment was short and the pain eased by a sympathetic DJ who spun some good tunes including a lot of Joy Division as the stage was set for Crystal Castles. Suddenly, the lights go out and we hear the beginning drone of “Plague”, which then sends shockwaves into the sea of countless bodies in which I waded, bringing forth delicious screams of joy. CC pretty much played songs off their most recent album, ‘III’, including “Wrath of God” and “Transgender”. They also played several singles off of their previous two albums, ‘I’ and ‘II’, including, “Untrust Us”, “Celestica”, “Crimewave”, and “Not in Love”.

It was a great night for dancing with very few lulls. However, there are some people, like my darling Hayley, who felt that the show was simply a “crazy light show, Alice Glass spitting alcohol on the crowd, and nothing but sound effects”. Honestly, I can’t say that I totally disagree. There are times, even with some of my favorite electronic groups, when trying to re-create in a live setting all that is perfectly sequenced, programmed, and aligned in a studio recording is a challenge, especially when the venue isn’t at all helpful in their sound system. Still, CC put on a pretty good show for us freaks and dancing queens. Overall, I was in heaven, or at least as close to heaven one might experience when one’s life is “one giant dark room”.

If you missed this shit after I warned you not to, then I am laughing at you. I was standing in a space called the Multiplex with about 50 people watching probably the most enlightening performance of the year courtesy of Virgin Blood, Moon Mirror and headliner Naadyn.

Virgin Blood went up first and whipped through a stellar set. Cupidity was excellently performed, a definite highlight of a very artistic night. If you have been following this motherfucking blog then you know I dropped her shit on you last September.

Moon Mirror filled the center slot of the bill with a dancey sort of set. Really good visuals and keen attention to her sound as she was often adjusting levels playing her own sound person during the performance. In my book, if you are doing all the performing while acting as your own sound person then you are probably pretty fucking superhuman. Watching all these other Prima donnas perform last week at Gothchella I don’t think they could pull this kind of shit off.

And then Naadyn went on. Been waiting an entire year or so to see her perform her first U.S. show. She was as delicate and perfect live than I could have ever imagined. Every vocal delivery was spot on to the recording. Hearing White Horse, Heart Bleed, Lose You and Faces made my fucking night. All the Galaxy material was superb live. Moon Mirror came on and performed the song “Moon” with Naadyn about midway through the set which really demonstrated the importance of why these artists are so well aligned right now. I am again laughing at you if you missed this. This was in-fact Naadyn’s only U.S. show. I am going to rub salt on the wound too and let you know this show was FREE. It was like having Naadyn play in your living room.

Some dark industrial sounds via Toronto’s Dark Ages. Some of you old Goths might appreciate their modern contribution and styling of an age old craft.

Naadyn along with Moon Mirror and Virgin Blood will be playing the Multiplex (625 NW Everett #101, Portland, Oregon 97209). This is a Portland, Oregon show. Not seeing any other planned shows for Naadyn, but this is going to be a special night for you moist bitches in the Pacific Northwest.

Here is the address, starts at 8 pm, bitches:

Multiplex
625 NW Everett #101
Portland, Oregon 97209

I could eat just about a pound of the Devil’s Breath and lose myself in this mix. An absolute fucking masterful escape from this piece of shit world which has been shitting on me since day 1.

Tracklist:

Starlit & Bijou – Fairy Bells
Princess Century – Twin House
Need a Name – Rain, Roads & Lights
Nosaj Thing – Snap
Barclay Heights – Walk Amon The Skylights
D/R/U/G/S – Ring of Endless Light
Exist Strategy – Never Lose Your Smile
ZENИTH – Moon
Labyrinth Ear – Urchin
Liquid Skulls – Nancy (Ylang Ylang remix)
Mace. – Suffer The Opposite

I resent and wish to punish humanity. I hope to appeal to the side of humanity that resents and wants to punish its self.

Some say we are getting soft here in hell. Well fuck you! Listen up, if an artist is featured here in hell, then you can bet your pale ass that the artist being featured is making some fine ass art. If you want to listen to more accepting tastes then go elsewhere. Here in hell we filter all the mainstream shit away so that your tarnished soul can have a glimpse of what purity sounds like.

What starts off very slow and amateurish ends fairly epic. Fooled the fuck out of me. That’s a compliment.

Try this shit on.

Bestial Mouths “White Eyes” from Bestial Mouths on Vimeo.

In this netherworld we vacation in, this dark sweet void, there are gardens of delight and wondrous sounds, where the moon makes her way across the cold dark sky, chasing away the shadow for a moment’s time, where one may find two lovers reposing, or dancing near the glistening waters of Styx, whispering sweet nothings to one another. Listening to ‘Like Love’, the EP by Phoenix based Shoegaze/Dream Pop band, There There, is the perfect soundtrack for such a dark, yet idyllic, setting. Their sound has been compared to bands like Blonde Redhead, Cocteau Twins, and Portishead. I personally hear a bit of Catherine Wheel, and, dare I say, Morrissey. I heard the band for the first time playing a live show at Pub Rock Live, a venue in Scottsdale, AZ, a few months ago. I was very taken in by the sheer beauty of their sound, from the hypnotic strumming of their guitars and driving rhythm of the drums, to the ethereal, yet soulful, vocals of Alisha Ways (Vocals/Guitars) and JD Clayton (Guitar/Vocals). The two opening tracks, “Prelude” and “Fireflies”, set up the tone of the EP brilliantly, the latter track creating an intimate dreamlike vignette, especially with Alisha’s shimmering vocal quality and lyrics: “Dreams, fireflies, Hide inside, Don’t think twice, Close your eyes…” The sound simply washes over you like a gentle evening breeze. The next few tracks, “Under Sand” and “Gravity”, I liken to miniature dialogues. Starting with “Under Sand”, we hear JD’s voice for the first time in a more lyrical capacity, which is in such harmonious rapport with Alisha’s. There are times that I hear a slight resemblance to Morrissey’s timbre in JD’s voice, especially in “Gravity”. The next and final track off of ‘Like Love’ is aptly titled, “All Things Come to Pass”. It’s the longest track off the EP and has some great musical elements and ideas that come into play, building up to a dramatic crescendo, all whilst one of the voices chants incessantly, “all things come to pass”. Then, there’s nothing, but a few licks of the guitar. It leaves one breathless and wanting more, yet thankful to have experienced some time in There There’s magical world, where the garden is showered by the moon’s beams, and where all is full of love, or at least the illusion of it, though it be short.

This guy is “the prince of darkness” of the new Tropicana Goth movement. Right now he is working on of the most darkest releases yet. He plans to take the Beach Goth scene by storm. Stay tuned.

Some ethereal shit from a girl that likes to refer to herself much in the way as an Author does by only using the first initial of their given name. Further proof that I know nothing as to the way it should be. For me right now the sky is black and this song sounds like a little glimmer of light.

Some field recording ambient shit for you to vibe to. I was pretty fucked up on some almost lethal shit when I first heard this. It was like a saving grace or something. I don’t know why they named this project after the mutant retired basketball player, but I am liking their sounds.

This might be the death of IVIYH right here.

Welcome back to the Witchhouse my lovely Bitches! CRIM3S continue to perfect the sound that they originated. I will not allow myself to piss all over this. Instead I will piss all over myself. Enjoy.

This is a darkness brewing in the land of the south. All the artists that I talk to are in denial about it, but the isolated continent is putting out some dark noises that are the envy of a global scene which is swelling by the day. I was floored when I first heard the sounds of Hollow Press. Sound collages encompassing a shit ton of paradigms. My senses were on overload. I didn’t know how to control myself. With a new album about to hit in May and with the world as his oyster…we caught up with Hollow Press for a short interview.

Can you tell me a bit about this project, what’s its focus and what is your artistic statement that you are making?

I’m not trying to make any conscious statement with my music, I just really enjoy making music and sharing it, plus it’s a good way of expressing myself. There is so much support in the underground music scene, artists support other artists and we all share our music. That’s why websites like Bandcamp and Soundcloud are so important, they help us connect with like-minded people with that common goal of expressing themselves through sound. I would like to continue making music in the same vein as I have for as long as I can.

Your music is very collage driven. How do you approach your writing and recording? What is your process?

You’re right, it’s very collage driven. I like to experiment with sounds and see how they interact with other sounds. When I start working on a song I rarely have a clear focus on what I want to create. That idea slowly forms when I start putting piece by piece together. Even the slight -16db field recording in the background of a track is important; every piece is integral to a song. I have a folder on my computer with samples and demos that I keep bouncing around with, taking bits from demo A and adding it to demo B, layering demo C over demo D, etc. I literally have hundreds of bits and pieces for Hollow Press tracks that I can barely contain at the moment… like a shoebox of magazine cut-outs, it’s very collage-like in that way!

Some say that Australia is currently the darkest continent right now musically, what is it like to be part of the scene?

I’ve never really looked at Australia as being a continent of dark music. Thewaypeoplestare is a great vessel for dark music but as you know most of that is full of content from all over. I really do wish there were more dark experimental artists in Australia, but perhaps that would make people consider me less original? There isn’t much support over here. In fact, if you don’t have a guitar and a set of drums, or haven’t been a supporting act for an international band, no one really cares that much about you. I think it’s a creative continent for sure, there are a lot of experimental musicians making great things like Shisd and The Atlas Room for example. Oh and Stacey Wilson is incredibly talented. She makes some dark music that I adore with her projects Rites Wild and Regional Curse. Thankfully there are some really good radio programs that celebrate diverse Australian music so I try and keep up with them when I find the time. Some of my favourite Australian bands are Super Wild Horses, and the defunct Cat’s Miaow and The Lucksmiths.

Outside of the aforementioned artists…can you tell me about some of your current favorite artists, local or elsewhere?

Nac/Hut Report recently released their second full-length called ‘Angel-Like Contraction Reverse’ and it’s directly inspired me in a lot of ways, I hope to work with them in the near future. Drug Arts just put out 2 nice EPs from SOAP and Black Rabbit, they are on rotation in my car at the present moment. Currently I’ve also been loving ‘Quarter Turns Over a Living Line’ by Raime, Waxahatchee’s ‘Cerulean Salt’, Grouper’s ‘The Man Who Died In His Boat’ and ‘Waiting For Something To Happen’ by Veronica Falls.

Everyone has a vice? What is your vice of choice?

Sleeping; not much of an interesting vice, but it’s what I love to do! Coffee is a staple of mine as well.

Can you give me an example of a song you consider perfect?

The Cure’s ‘Pictures of You’, The Raveonettes ‘Dead Sound’, Slowdive’s ‘Alison’, ‘The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s ‘Everything With You’… I consider a lot of songs perfect actually. Pretty much anything by Cocteau Twins is out of this world perfect.

If you could collaborate with any artist living or dead who would it be?

I think working with Trish Keenan would have been incredible. My girlfriend and I were lucky to see one of her last ever performances and she was hypnotic. I’d also be interested in working with Liz Harris and watching her recording process.

Some are saying this is the greatest era to exist as a musician, others say it’s the worst, what has your experience been like?

If the internet didn’t exist I wouldn’t be aware of a lot of artists out there and I wouldn’t get as inspired as I do. I don’t play an instrument, all of my music is made with the computer so the technology of today is crucial for me. It’s nice being able to connect with peers who support you and give feedback. Not to mention how inspiring it is to be among peers who are all actually working together and supporting one another. Still, my girlfriend and I love buying EPs and LPs as gifts to each other. It means so much more being able to hold a physical copy of an album rather than ripping the songs from the internet. I feel as though when you have a CD or vinyl copy, you listen to it more and appreciate its worth.

Do you feel things happen for a reason, do you have an experience that would be evidence of this?
I’ve never really thought of things happening for a reason. In some ways I believe in fate. But there is so much horror in this world it’s hard to believe those things are happening for a reason.

Any new songs in the works? What’s the direction looking like?

At the moment I’m finishing off a new album which should see the light of day in May. It still needs a bit of work, but right now I’m liking the way it sounds. It’s got a real clear and simple sound about it. I’m also working with a band I greatly admire on a collaboration release. It’s an interesting process working with someone who isn’t even in the same country as you, but we both appreciate each others music aesthetic so it seems to work well for us.

MIXTAPE EXCLUSIVELY FOR IVIYH (Tracklistings)

1. BUTTERCLOCK – crush
2. TO KILL A PETTY BOURGEOISIE – summertime
3. AMANDA SCHOEPFLIN – mindscan
4. ZOM-BELLE’S PALSY – fromunder (the implicit order remix)
5. EINSTUERZENDE NEUBAUTEN – blume
6. NAC/HUT REPORT – junkstarr
7. VIRGIN BLOOD – dream revisited
8. LAND OF GIANTS – cannibal dolls
9. SPK – baby blue eyes
10. MUNDARING WEIRD – your high (no sunrise remix)
11. RITUALZ – limerence
12. NABESHIMA – somnum exterreri solebat
13. CRYSTAL CASTLES – plague (mustapha mond remix)
14. SIN (X) SIN – prologue
15. LYCIA – dome
16. TRAILER TRASH TRACYS – turkish heights
17. H+ – hoia baciu
18. TANTRUMS – beat the happy pavement

The bands on this mix say it all. Pure fucking gold!

RAINFOREST SPIRITUAL ENSLAVEMENT – Refuges From Black Magic
STACCATO DU MAL – Sólo Baila Sola
MAKINA GIR GIR – Livides Clartés
FELIX KUBIN – Japan japan
POLICE DES MOEURS – Tout ce qui te fait mal te fait du bien
LINEA ASPERA – Lamanai
[HAUS ARAFNA] – The Woman You Are [There Is More Than You Expect]
CHRISTIAN COSMOS – The Angular Positions Of His Crown
PERC -A New Brutality
VERSALIFE – Rate of Change
ANCIENT METHODS – AM-4 B2
MILTON BRADLEY – Trapped In Eternity
MONDKOPF – Ease Your Pain
SILENT SERVANT – Utopian Disaster (End)
RROSE – 23 Lashes
VATICAN SHADOW – Church Of All Images (Regis Version)
OM UNIT – prawn cocktail
SUBJEX – Manneken Acid
CURSOR MINER – Spassfaktor
THE HAXAN CLOAK – Hounfour (Temple)
TROPIC OF CANCER – A Color
DEATHDAY – After Dark
COLD CAVE – People Are Poison

Some minimalist dark electro synth-based shit from the Netherlands. Like Mineral Beings this is a different gauge of darkness seldom seen in the light of day. It has that “less is more as fuck” notion that leaves you wanting to drag your starved corpse through a rocky path towards its last descent. This is Funeral music. This is I Vacation In Your Hell.

I once had a girlfriend that wore fishnets yet refused to shave her legs as sort of a feminist statement. Little hairs would stick through the openings of her fishnets stockings. She was the first Goth Hippie that I ever came across. She taught me about cultural harmony and free love with a fairly morbid tone. I want to say that I took something from our experiences together. We were both confused about ourselves and where we fitted in..in this world. Last time I checked she was working as a Biologist creating cures for infectious diseases. I thought of her first when I heard this song. What I am saying here is that experimentation often leads to beautiful outcomes.

One word (plural) describes this track…”Drugs”. I asked them what kind and they said “we are trying to change the world with our music”. These two Tokyo cats may be on to something. If you set your mind to something, you can achieve it. Believe in yourself.

I heard your music. It is nothing. Its empty.

So goes the opening sample on “I Want to Lay Down Next to You”. Such is not the case with Soft Riot’s music. It will make you feel paralyzed and forced into experiencing emotion after you hear it. You will not want to turn it off in fear of losing that feeling.

My soul has been in a dark free fall for a long time. Well, until last night when I saw your art. It made me feel not so completely dark. It made me feel again. To think that it used to be so easy to be in such a state. I wonder how I have survived without your take. I wonder how I am going to live from here on without it.

Fresh from the motherfucking streets. The kids (you) are going to enjoy the fuck out of this one. They call themselves Skinny Reptile Youth and they are electronica/witchouse/darkwave/8 bit duo. They just uploaded a selfedited/produced EP and a Crystal Castles cover just days ago. Fucking enjoy this one. Doesn’t get more fresh than this.