VON HERTZOG - All The Pretty Faces (Feat. C Z A R I N A)

Philadelphia-based Cold Wave and Retro-Future Artist and Producer VON HERTZOG recently dropped a new cover of The Killers’ track “All The Pretty Faces,” featuring Galicia-based American artist CZARINA (formally styled as C Z A R I N A), who provided both vocals and guitar performances. The track mixes cold wave, dark electro and raw lo-fi 90s alt rock back drop with CZARINA’s hallmark darkwave and post-punk vocals, all culminating into an epic and emotional crescendo.

“The is a song I've loved since I first heard it in 2007. Finding out Flood and Alan Moulder produced it only made perfect sense to me. Getting a chance to reinvent it with CZARINA was something too good to pass up. Landing in quarantine after spending ‘2 long years in a strange strange land,' I found this song somewhat autobiographical about my pre-pandemic life. ‘Help me out I need it,’ because there's no going back,” explains Hertzog, as to why he chose this track.

“I love The Killers. It was refreshing to be able to do a track that is just so raw, so gutsy and true to the good ol’ untethered punk vibe. The song is about being hurt and all the bottled up anger on edge that needs to be screamed out into the void. It was quite an experience being the voice for this and to bring out a certain level of emotional distress in the performance. I was very glad that Von asked me to do it,” says CZARINA.

Kent “Von” Hertzog is an accomplished, seasoned producer who initially emerged in the hip-hop world in 1996 under the alias DJ Luciano. He has tenured as a resident engineer at 1650 Studio and 36 Chambers, working closely with prime hip hop artists Violator’s JoJo Pellegrino, Pretty Ugly, R.A. The Rugged, Ghostface Killah and Wu-Tang’s Shyheim. At the wake of his father’s untimely death, Hertzog launched Von Hertzog in 2013 - a synth retro-futurist music project that gives nod to ‘80s retro electro. Since then he’s released six singles, two EPs, and three full-length albums, including the soundtrack to video game Neon Aileron. Hertzog is also the owner and main engineer for mixing/mastering house The Social Club. He is also the “VH” in the rising cold wave duo VH X RR under Lakeshore Records.

C Z A R I N A is Vero Faye Kitsune, an award-winning American synth and electronic artist, songwriter, producer and filmmaker based in Galicia and London. CZARINA has captured recognition for her uniquely stylish performances and dynamic approach to songwriting, production and audio-visual creative direction. She is under the German-French darkwave, industrial and goth music label darkTunes Music Group.

For the latest news on Von Hertzog, visit vonhertzog.bandcamp.com

For CZARINA, visit www.czarinaofficial.com.

DEAD ASTRONAUTS - “Forgetting Me”

Lo-Fi New Wave act DEAD ASTRONAUTS dropped their latest single and neon-lit visuals “Forgetting Me” from their upcoming full-length LP “Silhouettes.” The music video depicts a young couple trapped in a lackluster domestic relationship, slipping further in a cold, loveless downward spiral drag. The woman’s growing resentment leads her to creating a fantasy where she kidnaps her partner and torments him in raves before his eventual murder, ending in a rather beautiful and dramatic celebratory dance. It makes viewers wonder how this relationship began in the first place, and what could have caused the dissonance that brewed into such poetic rage. 

Blending the lines of Darkwave, Goth, Post-Punk and New Wave, Dead Astronauts launched in 2011 and recently regrouped as a trifecta consisted of some notable acts in the synth scene. The group is led by Seattle-based vocalist, musician and designer Jared Kyle and LA-based synth artist Florence Bullock, a.k.a. Glitbiter.  Switzerland-based Record Producer, Slade Templeton (Crying Vessel, Influx Studios) stepped in to help bring the Dead Astronauts’ new modern and edgy sound to life in 2019 and 2020 and round out the band. Dead Astronauts are back and ready to reignite the flames. Their new album “Silhouettes” will be out on Cold Transmission in 2021. 

For more Dead Astronauts, visit www.deadastronauts.com

THE GOLDEN AGE OF WHITNEY TAI

One of our own favorite discoveries is Los Angeles-based artist WHITNEY TAI. Her cinematic blend of electro-pop, rock, and alternative metal is powered by her velveteen, honey-coated soaring vocals along with fine art imagery. The New York City native also balances her time as an architect and designer which explains the delicately-crafted visual periphery that accompanies her lush, expansive sound. She recently released her brand new full-length LP, APOGEE - a transportive and emotive 10-track offering that blends sublime, atmospheric harmonics with her own brand of modern pop rock edge and a touch of ‘90s alternative nostalgia. Her vocal style reminiscent of Sarah Mclachlan, Chromatics, Goldfrapp, Tori Amos and even at times, the late Scott Weiland, carries a wide dynamic that showcases effortless power and control - especially most evident in her tracks “Surrender,” “Righteous” and '“Electrified.” ABSYNTH got to sit down with Whitney and discussed all the details behind her unique and compelling artistry.

How did you initially get into music? 

Whitney: Music really chose me. My parents said as a baby, I would hum and sing nonsense words or dance to music and already felt I was musically inclined. My dad played singer-songwriter and classic rock songs on guitar in the house every night and we would practice together all the time. From writing really deep and painful poems / songs from age 7, it was sort of this natural progression into performing. I began to partake in school talent shows, plays, seeking private music instruction and performing  until it led me to the right producer for my first single. It was tough at first because my initial stage fright was super legit.

What is the story behind your recent latest release, Apogee?

Whitney: Apogee is like being in my backpack the last few years. I wrote these songs over the span of 2 years of leaving my home city of New York and relocating across the USA. I wrote a few of these tracks when I lived in Portland and the rest in LA. I was struggling for a while to find the right way to describe what I had experienced with all the loss and abuse I was wrapped up in but after a late night conversation with my co-writer Emer the evening we wrote Incantation, I described I’d been in pain for quite some time. I explained how I had been putting myself second to tend to the needs of those who needed me and these tracks were my detachment from that pain, feeling like a revolving satellite or observationist that finally got a moment to just be. Apogee is having clarity, suspension and resolve to reflect on traumatizing emotional stimuli the universe tests us with. 

How long have you been producing music and tell us about how you got started and your history?

Whitney: I love crafting songs, been doing it since I was old enough to remember. I love everything about it from exploring verbiage and word relationships to the mechanics that make up the composition where I can explore my fascination of rhythm, tonality and dynamics. I especially love how certain notes and chords can invite a certain type of word and its shape. It’s probably why I later went to study architectural design, form and function are beautiful processes I continually want to move through. 

Who are your musical influences and heroes. Is there anything in particular (whether it’s a film, event, occasion, era) that has shaped your creative perspective and stylistic direction? 

Whitney: I would say I am very much shaped early on by artists like Pink Floyd, Bill Withers, Sarah McLachlan, Michael Jackson, The Police, Celine Dion and Fleetwood Mac. Once I got into my young & angsty teen years, I noticed I was really into metal, alternative rock, trance, R&B, and house music, listened to a lot Tool, Killswitch Engage, RA, Alice in Chains, Chris Cornell, Metallica, Linkin Park, Korn but loved electronic acts like Paul Oakenfold, Oceanlab, Portishead and The Chemical Brothers.

What got you into electronic music?

Whitney: One year when I was on a vacation in Pompano Beach, I met these two really cool teens from Argentina who shared a playlist with me of some really dope Pop Italo-disco dance music and I felt my ears explode with excitement since I hadn’t heard synth sounds like that before. I loved the beats, melodious voice and leads and the way the instrumentation or production sort of lifted you out of reality into another hyperreal dimension. I’m pretty sure I had heard other really cool electronic music prior to this that impacted me but for some reason this stands out. 

What direction do you see your music going in the future?

Whitney: I think as all art does, it evolves away over time from the unnecessary into the purest form of itself before it reincarnates into the next body it needs to manifest a new experience. I’m just a humble servant and the direction I intend to go is where my crazy life and love for all of creation can guide me. It began as a seed of love and connection and I wish for nothing more than to always further and deepen that bond.

Do you plan on touring (as soon as the pandemic gets under control)? Dream lineup and co-bill?

Whitney: It’s definitely on the top of my list of priorities once it becomes safe again. My dream lineup or co-bill would be something like: Interpol, Moby, Bjork, Stone Temple Pilots, Goldfrapp and Aurora. Eclectic, emotional and ethereally themed.

What would you say is the most important thing about being a musician today and what continues to inspire you and drive you?

Whitney: In 2020, a time when our world of liberties and freedoms are deeply pressing with urgency for change, music is still a tool to speak powerful wisdom to our contemporaries. Music is communication and connection. It’s a living, breathing organism that allows artistic expression to be consumable. What drives me is the 8 year old girl inside who cared about making the world a better place by being a confidant to others through creating something meaningful that makes others feel less alone or less valuable in this big ole nutty place.

Do you have new releases coming soon?

Whitney: I am currently working on some new solo songs that are stripped, dreamy and super intimate that I’m really excited about. I am also working on the very first single in my new dark mood rock project, The 1905, which we are pushing hard to have out by the holidays. Few interesting collaborations in the fire too. Music video stuff too, lotta goodies =)

For more Whitney Tai, visit www.whitneytaimusic.com

Dance My Darling - “Kathedrale”

Moscow, Russia-based Darkwave and Goth Electro duo DANCE MY DARLING unveil their latest dark audio-visual offering, “Kathedrale.” The gothic dance track - all written and sung in German - circles around themes of witch hunts, heresy, purgatory and fiery salvation. The music video, stunningly shot in atmospheric locations in nature, is both a modern interpretation and commentary of the days of the old when religious faith intertwined with archaic demagoguery reigned supreme without compromise. The darkwave duo both captivate and entrance audiences with their own brand of dark magic.

DANCE MY DARLING was created in 2019 by Roman Munster, former frontman of the Russian gothic metal band “Maestro Nosferatu” and Alexandra Snork, the keyboards of the Russian post-punk band "Gruppa Hmuryi.” Dance My Darling spans many genres from electro-pop and dance music to darkwave and post-punk / gothic rock, exploring the expanse and versatility of Roman's vocal prowess matched with words and lyrics transcending topics of love, sex, alienation and death.

For more Dance My Darling, visit http://www.dancemydarling.com