Theses are the shownotes for the following episode:

Traitrs – Mouth Poisons

This Canadian two-piece band, TRAITRS, started in 2015. It consists of 2 guys called Sean-Patrick Nolan and Shawn Tucker. Their first full-length album, “Butcher’s Coin,” came out in 2018, three years later. There was a period in which they had to learn how to run music software like Ableton and program synthesizers and drumbeats. They were only used to playing guitar and a traditional drum kit. But Traitrs is not a 100% electronic band because it would be boring when touring and playing live, they say. So, they blend in analog instruments as well.

Even though Canada is quite expensive city to live in, they make a living with the band. No side jobs. They also tour a lot and can’t have regular jobs. Their goal is to put out one album each year. They haven’t entirely managed to do so but have been very productive with EPs and Singles. They are especially popular in Europe, not so much in Canada or the U.S.

Sinusoidal – Uber (2023)

Sinusoidal are a young dark-wave band from North Wales. Sinusoidal consists of three members, Owqin (Bass and vocals), Zak (guitarist), and Ronnoc (drummer). They met in college; they all study music technology. All of their music is composed at night—they love carefree quietness and serenity, Uber was their first song. It was made when they were in a pretty good place, surrounded by friends and having a good time. But some of their unreleased stuff is quite dark, unsurprisingly, as influences listed by the band include Ian Curtis, Martin Hannett, Boy Harsher, and Mareux.

We recently spoke to singer Owqin. You can learn a lot more about the band in the full interview right here on the site: https://theinfected.nl/2023/06/17/interview-sinusoidal/

Filmmaker – Lust Riders

Filmmaker remains an enigma. I could not find much information about this Colombian producer, who is called Faunes Efe. He lives and creates his music in Medellin. Which also was home to one of the biggest drug cartels ever on the planet. Have you seen the documentary about that? It’s called Cocaine Cowboys. Let’s revive our movie section: The Big Picture!

Cocaine Cowboys is available on YouTube, to my surprise! Check it out here:

It’s about a used car dealer from New York and a handyman from Miami that meet each other in the late 70s and get in touch with some people from Medellin. This group was responsible for the largest share of Cocaine flowing into the US in the early ’80s. Their stories are unbelievable. From houses and garages that were filled with cash. To Colombian hot squads that shot up entire bars and discos. If you see the documentary, you understand what the movie Scarface is based on and the TV series Miami Vice. True stories.

But back to Filmmaker, the band. Faunes has been working on 14 (!) different projects under multiple aliases in only two years. Varying from techno to EBM to cold wave. Every project sounds very different, but the same man makes it all, including visuals and album art. Every album is recorded with various tools. Some were made with iPad apps, others only with synths and a guitar, and others purely in Ableton.

If I had to describe his body of work in words, I’d say it is pretty dystopian. But also in a seductive way that draws you in. It’s not all cold and bleak.

There’s no real underground music scene in Medellin, primarily shallow and arrogant DJs who care more for social status than music. I would not have expected these quite cold tracks to come from Colombia—a lovely find.

Recoil – Strange Hours (2000)

This track is recommended by Tyler, who reached out via our The Infected Facebook page. Thanks, Tyler! “Strange Hours” by Recoil. Recoil is a project by Alan Wilder, a member of Depeche Mode from 1982 to 1995. He left Depeche Mode after having been a band member for 13 years. He decided after having spending months with the band in a Madrid villa during the recording of Songs Of Faith And Devotion. As he says, “Living with the other band members helped bash the nails into the coffin” He completed the Devotional tour first because he enjoyed being on the road and at the same time he didn’t have to spend all his time near the others. When the tour was completed, he announced his departure in a meeting at the Depeche Mode office. He got no response from Dave (who was living in LA), a handshake and a shrug from Martin, and only aggressive indignation from Fletch.

Five years on, in the year 2000, Wilder released a trip-hop album called “Liquid” under the name Recoil, mostly spoken word and music, though there is some singing on it. The production is mixed well throughout, and you can hear every sound clearly and well separated. The instrumentals are pretty dark. The production is fine, Diamanda Gallas’s vocals work quite well, and the lyrics are gloomy but interesting.

“Strange Hours” is a dream about a man confessing to a priest the murder of a girl to save mankind. This song features Diamanda Galas on vocals. Diamanda is a confrontational avant-garde performer with glass-shattering vocals derived from the Schrei opera of German expressionism. Diamanda can really let herself go in her music. Even for my taste, sometimes she can be a bit much, but this is one of her more accessible efforts. Shout out to Tyler for coming up with this suggestion! Stay strange, man.

Tag ‘em and Bag ‘em!

It’s our brand new Tag ‘em and Bag ‘em contest! Please give us a tag and get a shot at a bag! All of you who tag our latest episode on your socials and tag @Theinfectednl have a chance to win our prized The Infected Backpack!

You can check the backpack’s details in the shop section of our site, where we have this beautiful full-logo backpack up for sale. So tag ‘em and bag ‘em; Make a nice post to promote our latest episode, tag @theinfectednl at your socials, and at the end of the season, you may be the winner! Or, you can buy right it now to support your Podcast 😉

Blancmange – Blind Vision

In 1979, my birth year, Neil Arthur and Stephen Luscombe started the band Blancmange. They are a pure Synthpop band with catchy but only a few noteworthy tracks. Except for Blind Vision, I think. They had 4 top 20 hits in the UK in the ’80s, one of which was Blind Vision (no. 10).

When Synthpop died and disappeared from the charts, Neil started composing music for documentaries. Neil and Stephen rejoined forces in 2011 and released several albums after. They are also touring, I found out on their (great looking) website, and have 180.000 monthly listeners on Spotify. But those listens are mainly from the old tracks; the newer work sounds cringy and not very interesting. I still love Blind Vision, however.

Is Vic There? – Department S (1981)

“Is Vic There?” is a song by post-punk band Department S, released by Demon Records on 29 December 1980. It was their first single under the name Department S. Previously, they had released their debut single, “I’m Gonna Rough My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend Up Tonight,” under the name Guns for Hire.

The title is a quotation from a Monty Python sketch titled “Phone-In,” which closed the comedy troupe’s 1973 album “Matching Tie and Handkerchief.” You can find the full Python sketch here:

“Is Vic There?” charted at No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart. Dave Clarke covered the song on his 2017 album “The Desecration of Desire.” The track was produced by former Mott the Hoople members Buffin and Overend Watts.