Terminates Here

225 posts

Work! (To Live) – November 2022

DJ Setlist

Back to the Aces basement in Tufnell Park for body beats and assorting electronic oddities with Nathan Nothing and guest DJ Nick Octopus down from Edinburgh.   Almost certainly my last set of 2022, and my 150th in total.  Here’s what I played.

 

9pm-9:45pm

Absolute Body Control – I’m Leaving
Silke Bischoff – On The Other Side I’ll See You Again
Psychic Force – Underpass ’94
X Marks The Pedwalk – Paranoid Illusion
Numb – Dead Inside
Pankow – Gimme More (Much More)
Cobalt 60 – Bye Bye
Orange Sector – Für Immer
Spark! – Ett Lejon I Dig
Jäger 90 – Dessau
Elm – Wapenrustning
Signal Aout 42 – To Talk Nonsense

 

11:15pm-Midnight

Go_A – Shum
Kirlian Camera – Eclipse (Anniversary)
Project Pitchfork – Requiem
Kraftwerk – Radioactivity (The Mix version)
Nitzer Ebb – Getting Closer
Front 242 – In Rhythmus Blieben
DAF – Verschwende Deine Jugend
Die Krupps – Tod Und Teufel
A Split-Second – Flesh
Ministry – Revenge
Camouflage – The Great Commandment
Eleven Pond – Watching Trees

 

Work! (To Live) – July 2022

DJ Setlist

A return to the Aces and Eights basement, where I joined Nathan Nothing and Cavey Nik to play a night of EBM and related styles.  I don’t play that often these days, so every set like this is special.  

 

9pm

Vangelis – Alpha
32Crash – Slow Crash
Haujobb – Dead Market
AutoDaFeh – Identity Unknown
klack – Discipline
á;GRUMH – C.B.B. (14%)
Borghesia – Discipline (same title but different song to the klack one…..)
The Young Gods – Jimmy
My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult – Do You Fear For Your Child
Revolting Cocks – Attack Ships On Fire
Kraftwerk – Numbers
Welle:Erdball – Starfighter F-104G
Kirlian Camera – Nightglory

 

11:15pm

Project Pitchfork – K.N.K.A. (Climax Version)
Front Line Assembly – Iceloate
Leæther Strip – Adrenalin Rush
The Invincible Spirit – Push!
Das Ich – Destillat (Original version)
Front 242 – No Shuffle
Nitzer Ebb – Control I’m Here
DAF – Kebabträume
Cabaret Voltaire – I Want You
Klinik – Moving Hands
Skinny Puppy – Far Too Frail

Update – June 2022

News

Writing on the “Dark Scene 500” continues at a steady pace, with close to 50,000 words written so far. Still a lot to do, but I’m not working to any specific deadline here so no need to rush things. The aim is to get at least some of each chapter written within the next month or two, and then the overall shape of the thing will become clear.

As for DJing, I haven’t fully re-joined the circuit (as if I was in said circuit in the first place!), but I will be making a second appearance at the Work! (To Live) night in July – details are available on the Facebook page for those of you who like EBM done the ‘old way’.

Update – April 2022

News

After my DJing comeback in March, I’ve now turned my attentions back to writing.  The concept remains “500 songs that define a scene”, although the final title won’t be decided for some time yet.  At time of writing, just over 150 songs have received a draft write-up.    Challenges include working out a fresh ways of describing periods where many songs sounded pretty much the same (thank you aggrotech), and how to sensitively handle the whole ‘musically notable-ideologically problematic’ issue.  “Leaving those bits out” isn’t an option – re-writing history to eliminate things you don’t agree with causes more problems than it solves.  

I’m hoping to launch some crowdfunding to actually get this book published – forget about the established press.  However, as a sign of good faith, I won’t launch this until the first draft is nearly complete (probably around the 400 song mark).  It will also be the point where I hope to engage other subject matter experts on corners of the scene I haven’t personally been involved in – so if you think you know your stuff RE: digital hardcore, deathrock revival, 2010s EDM-that-had-a-scene-following or whatever it is steampunks listen to, hold that thought – we might have something to discuss!

Until then, I haven’t counted out DJing again from time to time, particularly if I get to play under-represented styles (as was the case with ‘Work!’) or have the opportunity to work up a decent genre-spanning setlist. 

If you have any interest in any of the above, get in touch!

Work! (To Live) – March 2022

DJ Setlist

The first Terminates Here set since the pandemic began took place at Work! (To Live), a real-world version of Nathan Nothing’s lockdown-era online event Work! (From Home). Back to one of my favourite venues, and one of my favourite styles to play, alongside Nathan and DJ Mara Mortem. And thanks to Bandcamp Fridays, some new bands alongside the old favourites.

 

9pm-9:45pm

Due to my 2-year DJing layoff, I decided to start the event with the last track I played at the final Terminates Here set (also at Aces and Eights) in March 2020, followed by a reprise of the first track ever played at a TH set back in 2008 (also in Tufnell Park). Then the hard rhythms could begin…..

Ramin Djawadi fear Serj Tankian – The Rains of Castamere
Laibach – Mama Leone
:Wumpscut: – Capital Punishment
Deja Vu 2 – World Alert (2014 mix)
Borghesia – Ni Upanja, Ni Strahu
Ministry – Just Like You
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult – Kooler Than Jesus
Cabaret Voltaire – Just Fascination
Pouppée Fabrikk – Death
Chrome Corpse – Remembering Your Words
Rein – There Is No Authority but Yourself

 

11:15pm-12:00am

Possibly one of my favourite DJ stints, ever…..

Absolute Body Control – Figures
Front 242 – Tragedy For You (Punish Your Machine)
Leæther Strip – Strap Me Down
Red Meat – Wrapped In Leather
Test Dept – Landlord
Armageddon Dildos – East West
Choke Chain – Blood
Cat Rapes Dog – American Dream
Youth Code – The Dust of Fallen Rome
Portion Control – Amnesia
Die Krupps – Robo Sapien

Update – February 2022

News

With my DJing return still a little over a month away, I though it best to offer some updates on my latest writing project. It’s already the biggest thing I’ve attempted – by far, but progress is being made.

I’ve picked out 500 songs that have some claim to being influential on the musical styles that define the scene in which DJ Terminates Here has operated since 2008 (and EOL-Audio long before that). The genre remit can essentially be defined as “all the genres covered by Wave-Gotik-Treffen” – though the band doesn’t have to have played said festival to make it in. Expect all forms of industrial and goth, a decent dose of early and experimental electronics, a selected few metal and rock tracks, and more that a couple of surprises.

It’s important to note that this is NOT an academic study – my style is simply better suited to the lay reader and I wouldn’t enjoy writing it if I couldn’t indulge in some humour along the way.  Whilst there was a semi-scientific method behind the selection of bands and songs, it’s far too complex to go into here – I’ll explain more in the book itself. In terms of drafting, I’m well past 100 songs at the moment. There’s still a lot of explanatory text to write in between the chapters, so I’ll call the first draft 20% done.

I’ll post updates at key stages – and at some point in the near future I might be asking for some assistance, specifically from those of you who have some knowledge of the more obscure subgenres.  More on those later – for now, I’ve got a few hundred songs to cover!

Update – January 2022

Uncategorized

Hi everyone, and a belated Happy 2022.  I haven’t posted much on here lately, whilst the emergence of the Omicron variant has kept me from picking up the DJing once again.  I have, however, been writing.  I’ve decided that I’ll never have time write every listeners guide I want to, so have instead decided to change course and once again attempt to write a print-to-paper book. 

This is my third attempt at such a thing, but this time I’m 20,000 words in and with plenty more to come, I’m confident of success this time.  The underlying concept is ‘Songs that defined a scene’.  I’ll reveal more as writing progresses.  As for publishing – I’m hoping that aspect can be crowdfunded, but I won’t ask for any money until the first draft is mostly complete. 

I’m otherwise alive and well, and happy to continue with this project at my own pace.  I’ll post updates when there’s news.  Until then, I wish you all the best with whatever it is you’re all doing these days.  Hopefully we’ll all meet again soon.

Diary of Dreams – A Listener’s Guide

Article Listeners Guide

The second consecutive Listener’s Guide to be about a band from Deutschland beginning with ‘D’, but that’s the point at which the similarities end.  The DAF listener’s guide was written as a somewhat delayed tribute to Gabi Delgado, who died on the eve of the initial COVID lockdown (thankfully not from said disease itself), only for my writing to get totally derailed as my creativity ground to a standstill along with the rest of the world.  I eventually completed it, but the significance of the timing was lost.

This guide, however, has been a long time coming.  It’s about a band who have featured frequently in my DJ sets and past playlists.  I wrote about them frequently back in my EOL-Audio days.  And yet I’ve found their works remain somewhat under-appreciated amongst many of those who’s tastes I otherwise share.  Too “goth” for the industrial kollectiv, too electronic for the goth-rock puritans.  Too dark in tone for the casual listener, but too song-oriented for experimental elitists.   

It’s time to tell you all what you’ve been missing out on.

Continue reading →

Listeners Guides Updated

News

Hello, anyone out there?

Despite the reopening of the outside world, I for one am not ready to rejoin it.  The next listeners guide is well underway at least.  However, I’ve taken a short diversion to bring two of the existing guides up to 2021 spec.  It’s a pity I didn’t have more interesting material to work with, but for those who care one way or the other, you can read what I thought of the recents Wumpscut and Fear Factory albums.  These are not ‘reviews’ as such, just updates to the story I’d already told.  

Anyway, back to the next epic.  Who was it who said “You Cannot Help, Where Your Help Is Not Wanted”?  That’s both a massive hint, and the story of the past few months.  See you on the other side.

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft – A Listener’s Guide

Article Listeners Guide

I’ve long had issue with how poorly bands from continental Europe are covered when the Anglo/American music journos cover a particular genre.  Even when the bands in question sing in English.  Bands singing in any other tongue are a particularly hard sell, but every now and again, a notable project breaks through.  And Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft (DAF from here on) stand out in this very small grouping due to the way they achieved a cult following in the UK a couple of decades before anyone had heard of Rammstein.  This achievement was not despite the fact that they sung in German, but in many respects because of it. 

Continue reading →