Browsing Tag

Dark Electronica

Corporate Capitalism met the wrath of Bitvert in the Darkly Dystopic Alt Techno Howl, ‘Power Pointless’

Posted on 21 June 2026
Women and Children by bitvert

Few artists could ingeniously encapsulate the meaninglessness of corporate capitalism in a two-word track title alone, but with Power Pointless, the alt-electronica artist and producer Bitvert hits the nail on the dystopian head.

While the syncopated, glitchy beats perforating the interstellar chill of the sci-fi production leave your existentialism and rage fully activated over how the world has transpired when there were so many other possibilities, Power Pointless gives your nervous system the opportunity to silently scream into the void of our existence.

The bass pounds vitriol into the production in a way that ensures the track, though separated stylistically from its tribal percussive roots, acts as a primal awakening, a reminder that there is more to life than the rigged system and the game it makes you play as you watch the fallout from the megalomaniacs in charge.

Born from East London warehouse subculture, Bitvert applies punk’s DIY defiance to nocturnal electronica, mechanical disruption, pounding techno pressure and sub-bass frequencies that drag the body towards the floor.

With a history across Glastonbury’s Shangri-La, Boomtown, AV sets, visuals, underground curation and collaborations across IDM and dubstep circles, Bitvert made Power Pointless feel brutally awake, and perfect for warehouses, headphones and civic exorcism alike.

Power Pointless is now available to stream on all major platforms, including SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dead Air Romance: Steps from the Cliff Summoned Downtempo Darkwave Seduction from Santa Cruz Storm Rituals

Posted on 10 June 2026

With their ability to make droning electronica feel primally hymnal and set your spine in a deep freeze, Steps from the Cliff are arcane outliers in the sphere of downtempo darkwave electronica. Their latest single, Dead Air Romance, carries all of the seduction you would expect from the title, while any dystopian tints in the production are smoothed over by the non-lexical harmonies that drape soul-sourced accordance across the tableau of downtempo techno, industrial and synthwave.

It resounds like it should be reverberating across the images of a Clive Barker horror film; temptation, melancholy and friction oscillate right past the synths and static-singed beats, giving full emotional range to the monochrome sonic spectre of desire. There is a severe elegance to the way the track moves, allowing its darker textures to feel ritualistic rather than merely atmospheric.

Formed in Santa Cruz during the violent January storms of 2023, Steps from the Cliff began as Tim Knapp’s response to the precarious border between peril and possibility. That origin story bleeds into Dead Air Romance, where coastal unrest, introspection and storm-season ritual are channelled into a release that feels intimately abyssal.

Dead Air Romance is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Elevated Focusion, Eimas, MINY & James R. Basterd Tore Through the Monocultural Mould in the Interstellar Stormer, ‘Trash’

Posted on 10 April 2026
Elevated Focusion

With a little help from Eimas, MINY and James R. Basterd, Elevated Focusion dropped an interstellar genre-mash of a stormer with Trash. Unsettling from the outset, the dark, deeply rhythmic feat of sonic subversion draws you into a collision of metal, psych, industrial and hip-hop through droning, harbinger-like synthetics, before tribalistic beats punctuate their way into a frenetic rush.

Distorted guitars tear through the arrangement while perpetually chameleonic vocals project the lyrics in juxtaposing forms, each international collaborator bringing volition, intensity and flashes of harmony in their mother tongue, allowing Trash to grind the monocultural mould beneath its heel.

That kind of scope makes sense when you know the roots of the project. Raised in Queens, Elevated Focusion absorbed underground hip-hop, punk, jazz, rave culture and the cultural crosscurrents of NYC long before this phase took shape. Earlier instrumental work under the Jonny Rythmns name fed into the experimental cultivation here, before the project re-formed after the pandemic into something broader, sharper, and more collaborative. Since then, Elevated Focusion has pushed further into vocal-led releases with artists from across the globe, tying music and alternative fashion into one unruly vision.

We’re hardly shocked they had the nerve to pull off such a cross-continental triumph without cheapening the culture of a single contribution. This is trash you will never want to take off your playlists.

Trash is now available on all major streaming platforms. Find your preferred way to listen via the artist’s official website. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Desk set tensile trepidation alight with caustic basslines and cinematic transcendence in Star 1

Posted on 15 October 2025
Desk

Star 1 is the first flare in what promises to be an expansive sonic constellation from Desk, the analog-driven industrial electronica artist sculpting emotive distortion into something that feels mythic in scale and meticulous in structure. Serving as a preview of his forthcoming 2026 LP, Starlight, the single delivers pure scintillation through a cocktail of caustically distorted bass, analogue synth pressure, and carefully weighted percussive strikes that land with intent.

Threaded through the circuitry is a melodic human narrative, almost imperceptible at first, but undeniable once the tensile momentum builds and you’re pulled into the track’s emotional orbit. Star 1 grips you with static-laced reverence and then drags you through lightless corridors where trepidation and transcendence co-exist. It’s the kind of track that makes you feel like you’re about to fall off the edge of something colossal, only to be snatched back by the undertow of its rhythm.

Working alongside Derek Linzy, Desk is refining a sound that’s raw, ambitious, and unafraid to hit where it hurts. Inspired by the emotional intensity of Till Lindemann and sculpted for those who crave the cerebral alongside the visceral, Desk’s industrial output doesn’t just follow in heavy footsteps; it carves out its own encrypted path.

Keep up to date with the latest releases from Desk on X and Facebook.


Review by Amelia Vandergast

Meet the Einstein of IDM in Bitvert’s latest soundscape, wasted states

Posted on 1 April 2024
Wasted states by bitvert

Bitvert’s latest offering, ‘wasted states‘, is a testament to his profound understanding and innovative approach to electronica. Trained as a painter and skilled in music production, projection, 2D artwork, and visuals, Bitvert brings a unique perspective to his musical creations, evident in this captivating track.

‘wasted states’ draws listeners into a monochromatic techno landscape that is as dark and harbingering as it is transcendently liberating. Bitvert’s mastery in creating a soundscape that is both oppressive and enchanting is unparalleled. The backbeat, demanding and unyielding, forms the backbone of this auditory experience, compelling submission with its rhythmic magnetism.

As the instrumental progresses, haunting violin strings weave in, adding an exotic beguile that juxtaposes the track’s oppressive nature. This element of contrast is a reflection of Bitvert’s ability to allow his audience to profoundly feel what he visualises sonically.

Bitvert’s background in various artistic disciplines enriches his music, allowing him to create multi-dimensional experiences. His work with The Light Surgeons and performances at The Big Chill and Glastonbury Festival’s Gas Tower stage, as well as a groundbreaking VR set at The Lost Horizon Festival, showcase his versatility and commitment to pushing the boundaries of electronic music.

Wasted states was officially released on March 15; stream the single on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DARCY – Mandem Carni: an avant-garde installation of artful electronic annihilation

Posted on 3 March 2024

With her sophomore single, Mandem Carni, the artist and enigma DARCY emerged from the shadows of her former alias and unleashed a visceral force to be reckoned with. The dark, bass-heavy oscillations resonate with a raw, physical intensity, capable of giving even the most robust speakers goosebumps.

This track is a masterful blend of genres, straddling the line between an industrial electronic horror score and an avant-garde installation of artful annihilation. It’s a sound that carries the terrorised glamour of a Dana Dentata release, yet pulses with the kinetic energy akin to Avalien. DARCY’s approach to music production is both aggressive and energetic, yet marked by an increasing fluidity and ambition that sets her apart.

Mandem Carni is an unflinching embrace of the dark and the macabre. It’s a track that doesn’t just flirt with the nightmarish; it revels in it, all while maintaining a level of artistic finesse that transcends mere shock value. The production quality is impeccable, with each beat and synth meticulously crafted to contribute to an atmosphere of controlled chaos.

For anyone with a penchant for the darker, more brooding variants of drum and bass, Mandem Carni is an augmented anthem to be experienced.

Mandem Carni disrupted the airwaves on February 18th; stream the release on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skimo followed the muse of dystopia into their most scintillating release to date, Let It Fly, ft Ash

Posted on 11 January 2024

Skimo’s seminal single, Let It Fly, featuring the hauntingly introspective vocals of Ash, is a mesmerising journey into the depths of EBM. Taken from the LP, Connected Memory, the single begins with a cascade of shimmering reverb, wrapping around the striking non-lexical vocals of Ash. This introduction draws listeners into a world where darkness and mechanical synthetics mercilessly construct a platform around the raw vulnerability within Ash’s vocals.

The electronic beats, meticulously crafted, ensure a deep immersion into Skimo’s artistic vision allowing Let It Fly to unravel as a narrative painted in sound; a vignette which portrays the relentlessness of our evolving for the worse climate. The track resonates with a sense of harbingering urgency, which filters from the progressions into a trepidation shared with the listener. The result is a piece that not only captivates but also invites them to delve deeper into the themes Skimo explores. For any electronica fans who want their eyes wide open to the world, to lock horns with the chaos, the Connected Memory LP is as essential as they come.

Stream the Connected Memory LP in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

CONT4MIN4TED – This is the Way: An Alt-Electronica Journey for the Mind, Body, Soul, and Rhythmic Pulses

Posted on 16 May 2023

After aurally relinquishing their emotional baggage via their debut LP, the Gainesville, GA alt-electronica producer, CONT4MIN4TED, went even further leftfield with their sophomore album, This is the Way, which will take you on a journey of the mind, body, soul and rhythmic pulses.

I could dissect each of the 16 singles that were intuitively curated to orchestrate the ultimate sonic experience, but perceptibly, the greatest achievement of this LP is the cinematic journey it will take you on straight from track one, Stuck, before the stagnation lifts in the fervidly exhilarating soundtrack, Drifting.

Even with the chillier tones and ethereal vocal lines in the cinematic slices of synthesised soul, you won’t fail to find the impassioned warmth in the emotion and experience-driven soundtracks to vignettes that are universally shared. The album is enough to make you forgo your usual vibe-out electronica playlists; it is a smorgasbord of constantly in-flux electronica ingenuity. For your sanity’s sake, sink your teeth into the catharsis.

Stream This is the Way from April 28 on SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jeff Goldsmith – Tied to the Track: Melt Into the Darkly Ambient Melancholy

Posted on 15 November 2022

Following the resounding success of his former releases, the Minneapolis composer, musical sound designer and producer Jeff Goldsmith unleashed the lamentfully arrestive atmosphere of his latest score, Tied to the Track.

With the art rock nuances of Radiohead, the progressive feel of Fear of a Blank Planet era Porcupine Tree and deserty Josh Homme-Esque vocals bleeding into the darkly ambient neo-classic electronic arrangements, succumbing to the cinematic melancholy of Tied to the Track is non-optional.

Goldsmith started his venture into creativity aged four at the Suzuki Music Academy, where he learned to play the violin by ear. In 2020, he made his debut with the album, Vodu, subsequently followed by his poetically titled scintillating sophomore album, May You Find the Light Before the Devil Knows He’s Right, in May 2021. In addition to his solo work, Goldsmith scores for TV and film and works with a myriad of other artists, such as Austin Texas’s Sparta. 

After hearing Tied to the Track, I know I will never stop turning to Goldsmith’s visceral sonic proclivities which innovatively amalgamate ambience with exultant ingenuity. He isn’t just one in a million, his presence on the airwaves can’t be quantified. I can’t recommend him enough.

Tied to the Track is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

AKMV-18 shows us what it sounds like when nature turns mechanical in his latest release, Chevalerie

Posted on 3 January 2022
https://soundcloud.com/akmv-18/chevalerie

‘Chevalerie’ is the latest dark and caustic electronic track that acts as a blackened sign of our times from the up and coming US artist and producer, AKMV-18. With visceral reminiscences to Celldweller, the pulsating beats thrash through the cavernous soundscape that embraces the darkest facets of our dystopic age.

The mechanical rhythms pierce through the comfortingly cold and hollow atmosphere of the track that bleeds an all too relatable melancholy while taking control of your rhythmic pulses through the psytrance nuances. Even the most pretentious cybergoth snobs would have a hard time picking holes in this entrancing hit which was just one of the seminal singles to feature on their latest EP.

Chevalerie is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast