We Have a Technical

As much as we'd like to convey the image of austere, stoic hermits who only listen to music when we're giving it our full attention in a darkened room with top-of-the-line stereo equipment, like everyone else we throw records on while we're doing other stuff. It's with that in mind that we're each picking five task-driven records this week - what do we listen to while we're driving, cleaning, work...

The gents from Sturm Café are our guests on the podcast this week, and we had a blast chatting with them about their changing relationships with EBM, the importance of a catchy melody, and the nation-wide rewards of investing in music education (no, really!). Sturm Café are a band that has long been a favourite of the Senior Staff and we were very pleased to finally have them on the show. On a les...

The mean and gritty retro-futurism of Pure Ground's brand of minimal synth and Absurd Minds' uncanny obsession with a particular era of Project Pitchfork's work inspires this episode of We Have A Technical, in the classic two albums format. The Senior Staff are also talking about the recent reporting on and revelations about abuse and harassment at LA's Cloak & Dagger club, and on a lighter note,...

This month's bonus commentary podcast finds us discussing the charming confidence of Cabaret Voltaire's overt push into funk and pop territory, 1983's Micro-Phonies . A band whose evolution in some ways mirrors that of industrial as a genre, Cabs don't get nearly enough love and discussion around these parts as they perhaps should, so we're atoning with some discussion of Cold War paranoia, the fr...

Scene-rooted cover tracks are the subject du jour in this episode of We Have A Technical. The expressive, the rote, and the crassly commercial versions of other artists' work which we've been drawn to and repulsed by over our years in the goth/industrial trenches are all up for discussion, along with new release news concerning Hide, Clock DVA, and Cygnets.

A striking pair of electro-industrial and EBM debuts are the focus of this week's podcast, as we turn our attention to Necro Facility's The Black Paintings and NTRSN's People Like Gods . How bands adhere to and break from their formative influences is always something we're interested in, and we have two very different approaches to that issue at hand. All that in addition to the latest chapter in...

After going ham with some rather abrasive rants on last week's episode, we're taking the backseat this week and welcoming on some Patreon backers who are keen to talk about records from a bands ranging from Russian synthpop (Stereopolina) to German darkwave (Diary Of Dreams) to American synthpunk (Six Finger Satellite) to Swedish neo-classical (Sanctum)!

This month's Patreon supported commentary podcast is dedicated to the infinitely varied and strikingly confident expression of high goth prowess that is Faith And The Muse's third LP. On Evidence Of Heaven William Faith and Monica Richards stride through history, love, and metaphysics, and marshal ethereal, neo-classical, deathrock, and many more sounds to a proudly flown standard. Ancient spirits...

Do not adjust your podcasting device - We Have A Technical has not been replaced by that sports radio station you hear annoying ads for. We are, however, coming into our 350th episode guns a'blazing, with each of us picking five hot takes regarding the state and legacy of the music we love and discuss. No quarter given, none asked for. What legacy bands do we actually find rather dull? Which young...

Our two albums format finds us talking about retro dark electro and the outer limits of technoid in this week's episode of We Have A Technical. The last record from Necrotek has us discussing the slow emergence of consciously-throwback dark electro, as well as the atmospheric charms of that genre overall. Next, one-off side project Ammo's foray into drum and bass raises all sorts of questions conc...

From the perspective of your co-workers who really wish you'd turn your headphones down, industrial music seems as far removed from pop as is possible. But that ain't the whole truth! This week's episode finds the Senior Staff discussing the role pop has played in shaping the sound and delivery of industrial music, as well as contemporary artists who are borrowing more liberally from pop tradition...

Deep genre records from Z Prochek and Manuskript have Alex and Bruce talking about the odd intersections of sounds and styles only possible at particular periods in industrial and goth history. The tragic passing of Sophie and the recent allegations made against Marilyn Manson are also discussed.

The Senior Staff are discussing a modern EBM classic in Spark!'s Hela Din Värld in this month's Patreon-supported commentary podcast! In 2012 Mattias Ziessow and Stefan Brorsson added ambitious pop instrumentation and melody to their established anhalt EBM template, and produced one of the most enjoyable records it's been our pleasure to write about and discuss on I Die: You Die. We're discussing...

The Pick Five format returns, with Alex and Bruce each highlighting some behind the scenes folks. Be they engineers, writers, label heads, or DJs, there are countless people who've helped to shape the music and culture we discuss who aren't as front-facing as the musicians themselves. We're discussing them, plus some Neubauten business on this week's episode of We Have A Technical.

The classic two albums format brings discussion of Minuit Machine's Violent Rains - an early example of the current wave of European darkwave we're continuing to enjoy - and Moskwa TV's Dynamics & Discipline - less an LP than a field testing of mid-80s electronic dancefloor sounds from Talla 2XLC & co. All that plus playing catch-up with the latest batch of (conflicting?) Coil reissues in this wee...

FLA mastermind, studio wizard, and all around industrial legend Rhys Fulber joins the Senior Staff this week for an illuminating conversation. Rhys discusses the process behind the new Front Line Assembly record, Mechanical Soul , the freedom afforded to him by his solo work, and having his passion for EBM come full circle in German clubs. This is a wide-ranging interview with one of the landmark...

We're starting the year off with our classic two records format for the podcast. First up its the sui generis 2012 12" from Aussie act Forces, which brought together classic body music and techno sounds in a way that's perhaps never been matched since, yet has definitely paved the way for many current acts. Next, we're examining the sober and somewhat dour approach to synthpop and futurepop taken...

It's the annual off topic podcast! Recorded weeks ago in a haze of pre-holiday cheer, we honestly have no idea what we spoke about on this cast. Probably a lot of tired banter about our usual off-topic obsessions, pro-wrestling, Iron Maiden, comics and science fiction, whatever really. If that doesn't sound at all appealing to you than no worries, we'll be back next week with an on -topic 'cast. U...

The written coverage on the site might be taking a holiday hiatus, but the podcasting doesn't stop. As a coda to our Year End coverage, the Senior Staff are each picking five fave tracks of the year which didn't figure into our Top 25 list, and which they maybe wish they'd been able to spin IRL.

The last commentary podcast of 2020 has the Senior Staff discussing the deep songwriting and production charms of Neuroticfish's Gelb . The emotional and psychological complexity of the 2005 record, not to mention its knack for working in just the right amount of contemporary synthpop sounds, didn't just make it a high point in Sascha Klein's discography, but also arguably the last great record of...

With the Top 25 releases of the year written up and posted, Bruce and Alex are looking back at the year that was, not just in the form of those specific records, but also honorable mentions, stats regarding regular Year End contenders, and larger musical trends we noticed over the course of a year unlike any other.

It's a bittersweet and emotional episode of the podcast, as we are joined by Chris Peterson to talk about the life and work of Jeremy Inkel, specifically focusing on the recent posthumous release of Hijacker , curated and shepherded by Peterson in conjunction with Inkel's family. We're also preparing for next week's Year End coverage and discussing the news of :wumpscut:'s return in 2021.

This week's classic two-albums podcast format brings discussion of the sole record by the enigmatic industrial/black metal project The Bleeding Light and some late 90s envelope-pushing dark electro from Abscess, with Bruce and Alex by happenstance each picking records the other had never heard. They're quite different in terms of style and development, but both resulted in some extended discussion...

For genres with a lot of clearly recognizable visual markers, industrial and goth can live and die by how they finesse them. In a high-concept episode of We Have A Technical, Alex and Bruce are examining a plethora of themes and types of imagery common to Our Thing, and discussing how they can function successfully...and how they often don't. All that plus some discussion of a recent Quietus artic...

It's a pretty left-field choice for this month's track-by-track commentary podcast, with the Senior Staff discussing the final record by German goth rock/gothic metal act Love Like Blood. Made up entirely of covers of goth classics, Chronology Of A Love-Affair offers the opportunity to discuss the place of plenty of bands in the goth canon, the distinctions between goth trends in Europe and in Nor...