Azure Blue to Release their Third Studio Album in June

Azure Blue have announced the release of a brand new album the next month. The new album will be entitled 'Beneath the Hill I smell the Sea' and it will be the third album release for Tobias Isaksson's Azure Blue which will also close the the trilogy that started with 'Rule Of Thirds' in 2011 and continued with 'Beyond The Dreams There’s Infinite Doubt' in 2013. The album releases was preceded with the release of the Every Ending Story EP, released in April which also included track remixes by Marsheaux. The album is expected to be released on June 15th. 

The Comsat Angels' Deluxe Album Reissues Announced

Edsel Music have announced the reissue of Comsat Angels' classic albums released during the 80's decade. This deluxe reissue includes the albums 'Waiting for the Miracle', 'Sleep No More', 'Fiction', 'Land', '7 Day Weekend' and 'Chasing Shadows'/'Fire On The Moon', out of which the 'Chasing Shadows' has been long time out of print. We are still waiting for the official release dates and the albums are already available on pre-order through Amazon. As a quick reminder her comes one of their memorable songs from 1980.

Retroviosion: Thomas Leer- Heartbeat

 Thirt years ago Thomas Leer released his single "Heartbeat", which was also a last single for him as a solo artist. The song was taken from Leer's third album 'The Scale of Ten'. He later joined Claudia Brücken from Propaganda to record an album under The Act moniker. Thomas Leer is best know for his debut single "Private Plane" which was one of the first experimental DIY minimal-synth songs that was released by a solo artist and recorded in his home. After several years outside the music world, Leer returned in 2001 with a new album and since then he is musically active.

Sally Dige- Hard to Please LP Out Now

Sally Dige has released the long awaited debut album 'Hard to Please' on Nightschool records. She is already a familar face on Burning Flame, but for those who do not know she is Candadian/ Danish decent currently based in Berlin working as desginer/artist and also recording as Cult Club with Laszlo Antal. Back in 2011, we featured her debut video for the song "Immacualte Deception" and since then we have been following up with her work. He music recalls the early Propaganda's music with a great blend of DiY artistery and dark synth-driven artpop. The songs were written and performed by Sally Dige and produced by Laszlo Antal.

Dimension Gondry: The White Stripes - Fell in Love with a Girl

"Fell in Love with a Girl" was a one of the essential single releases from White Stripes third studio album 'White Blood Cells' . It was a very authentic video which featured Lego animations and Gondry's son was featured at the beginning of the video, building LEGO blocks and it was shot frame by frame with each frame having the LEGO bricks rebuilt, sometimes in a complex manner to seem as if it were an actual shot, and then formed together to give the illusion of motion. The video mostly consists of red, white, and black color. The White Stripes couldn't strike a deal with Lego, so they had to buy a large amount of LEGO boxes for the video.
 The video won three MTV Video Music Awards in 2002: Breakthrough Video, Best Special Effects, and Best Editing. It also received a nomination for Video of the Year, but lost out to Eminem's "Without Me".

Next Wave: Night Drive

The Austin/Houston based duo of Rodney Connell and Brandon Duhon began after a young woman they were both unknowingly dating at the same time was killed in a car crash. The tragic event bonded the two men, and shortly afterwards they began a musical collaboration. Inspired by dark, synth-heavy electro pop, Night Drive released their first EP called Position I. Their singles "Drones", "After Dark" and "Young Rivals" have been featured in film and on radio stations nationwide. Touring with international bands such as Tesla Boy, Gold Fields and Jupiter, they've quickly garnered a reputation as a must see, high energy live show.

Daybed Release their Debut Album 'Weird Sailing' this Month

Daybed have released their debut album 'Weird Sailing' this month on Beläten. Following on from their 12” EP 'Preludes' from 2010, Daybed offer a diverse collection of songs set against analogue synthesizer landscapes. The album playfully jumps between the upbeat and pop-inspired to the reflective and lyrical and consists of ten original tracks as well as a special cover of KKD’s minimal synth gem “And Your Mind”. The album was released through Gothenburg-based Beläten Records.

 https://belaten.bandcamp.com/album/weird-sailing
 

Act's 'Love and Hate' Compilation Announced for June

Salvo/Union Square Music have announced the release of 'Love & Hate: A Compact Introduction' a two CD compilation by Act. Their brief existence 1987-1988 is mostly known remembered for "Snobbery and Decay" which was released in 1987. With a stunning front cover and usual typographical flair, this set offers a welcome exploration of one of the lesser known ZTT acts. Similar compilation entitled 'Laughter, Tears and Rage' was released in 2004. Eleven years after comes this and it is set for release on June 8th. 

Echo and The Bunnymen Release a New Compilation

Echo & the Bunnymen have released a new two-CD set compilation summarizes the band’s output between 1979 and 1987. The compilation is entitled 'Do It Clean: An Anthology' and it is a 38-track collection which actually contains all the band’s singles from this era including non-album 45s and "People Are Strange" from 'The Lost Boys' soundtrack. There’s a small sprinkling of relative rarities with the inclusion of The Original "Cutter" – A Drop in the Ocean – originally on the flipside to "Never Stop". Speaking of which, that single is also included in its remixed form (Never Stop (Discotheque)). New sleeve notes from Paul Lester are included in the 16 page booklet. Do It Clean: An Anthology 1979-1987 is out on 16 April 2015.

Retrovision: Marc Almond- Stories of Johnny -Live-

"Stories of Johnny" was one of the lead tracks on the album of the same name which was relesed in 1985. This prefomance on Wogan in 1985 gave a whole new dimension to the song with boy choir and wonderful backing vocals.

 

WAW: East India Youth- Carousel

"Carausel" is one of the lead singles for East India Youth, from the upcoming album 'Culture of Volume'. The album is out this month on XL Recordings and the video for this hauntingly magnificent song 'Carousel' was directed by Andy Inglis and produced by Cherise Payne.

 

Franz Ferdinad team up with Sparks for Album Release as FFS

Sparks are back with a brand new album and their first in this decade. This time they decided with fellows Franz Ferdinand for a brand new album. This comes ten years after the initial seed was planted between these two iconic bands Franz Ferdinand and Sparks are now FFS. The mutual admiration society between Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy, Paul Thomson, Ron Mael and Russell Mael has manifested itself in a striking new album. And without further ado, FFS is upping the ante with the announcement that they will be performing live. FFS: Franz Ferdinand and Sparks together in concert. It’s true! (FFS Facebook page)

A-ha Announce New Album for September

After their decision to split in 2009 after the release of their ninth studio album and farewell tour, a-ha were delighted to announce the release of a brand new studio album this autumn. The new album, 'Cast In Steel', will be the band’s tenth studio album and it will be released on 4th September 2015, three weeks before the band return to play the Rock in Rio music festival in Brazil, and thirty years since their debut single, "Take on Me", reached number one around the world.

Dimension Gondry: Michael Andrews & Gary Jules- Mad World

Another good one from Michael Gondry and quite an unconventional one compared to the other videos he directed. In 2000, Richard Kelly commissioned Michael Andrews to do the soundtrack for the film Donnie Darko. Its original score album went on to sell over 100,000 copies in part because of Andrews's remake of Tears for Fears' "Mad World", featuring Gary Jules). One video featured the scenes from the video while the other featured singer Gary Jules and scenes from every day life reflected in the hanging mirrors. 

WAW: Talking Bush- Overgrow

Great new music coming from St Petersburg in Russia. There is not much info about the artist other then that his name is Nikita and that he writes music. You can hear that his music was influenced by The Smiths and that he himself sounds like Morrissey. For now, two songs are available for your listening pleasure through his Soundcloud and there is some info about an upcoming EP.

Next Wave: Liste Noire

Liste Noire is a brand new incarnation of the art wave project Velvet Condom. Alice Gift and Obers T are joined by a new member Kalle on guitar and keyboards and they are playing what they call Disco Noir. Their debut EP 'Afire Afire' is expected to be released this spring and it is available as a free downloaded on their page. Two of the songs from the new EP have already been revealed on Youtube, "Afire Afire" and "Mother". 

The Monochrome Set's New Album 'Spaces Everywhere' Out Now.

The Monochrome Set have released a brand new album 'Spaces Everywhere'. This is a follow up to their album 'Super Plastic City' which was released in 2013. This is how the record label described their sound: "A very particular humor. And a very unique sound, although this time banjos, Hammond organ, female backing vocals and even flutes can be heard on the new album, experts and laymen alike will recognize,...On one hand, the music is very melodic and cheerful. The lyrics, however, deal with death, decay." The album was released on Tapete Records on March 13th.

Retrovision: Inspiral Carpets- This is How it Feels

Twenty five years ago Inspiral Carpets released their seventh single "This is How it Feels" and the first one to reach the top 20 in the UK charts. The US music video for "This Is How It Feels" was inspired by the imagery of the British art duo Gilbert and George, making use of their signature "stained glass" and grid style and their standard iconography. The song was written by Clint Boon.

Shriekback Release Their 13th Studio Album

Shriekback have announced the release of their 13th studio album entitled 'Without Real String or Fish'. They have already revealed information about it on the social networks and there are also three video previews on youtube for your listening pleasure. The album can be ordered directly through 

http://shriekback.com/

Next Wave: Dinner

Danish producer and singer Anders Rhedin who records and produces under the Dinner moniker is our new Next Wave stars on Burning flame and one of the most anticipated stars for this year. Already in 2014 he draw a good deal of attention with his synth laden glam-pop tunes. Somewhere divided between LA, Berlin and Copenhagen he is taking influences from everywhere.This is how his music is described by his label: "Sometimes Dinner sounds like a long-lost mixtape from the local Dusseldorf pop scene in the early 1980s. Other times he sounds something like the soundtrack to David Lynch directing Miami Vice, or Genesis P-Orridge embracing Italian pop-infused Danish darkwave, or like a male descendant of Nico singing Eno-esque pop songs on discarded Julian Cope tracks." 

In April, Dinner will release the complete Three EPs Collection 2012-2014 and also support Mac DeMarco on his West Coast tour. In May and June he’ll embark on his first extended European tour. He’s currently in LA, where he’s working on his debut full-length.