PODCAST: February-March 2022 Episode

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EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:

This episode is arriving late, during a terrible time in history -- and partly because of this terrible time in history. I refer here to the invasion of Ukraine that began last week, or more to the point, Russian leadership's latest attempt to bring Ukraine under its control again, by force and without regard for anything resembling humanity. As I have mentioned many times on previous episodes, I am of Ukrainian descent, so this is personal for me. 

 

Like many others in the DJ field, my thoughts this week -- and therefore my musical inclinations -- have been with the Ukrainian people, and in spite of the symbolic nature of highlighting the artists of a war-torn region, I could do no less than to assemble collections of Ukrainian music to bookend this episode, which was originally set to launch as the war began. I couldn't stomach a business-as-usual approach as originally laid out, so I delayed launch and reworked the content and tone of this show. 

 

First, we open with the traditional piece, "Prayer for Ukraine," as performed, in this case, by the Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus. If you watch SNL, you may recognize this song from last week's disarmingly serious and reverent cold opening. Like many, I was deeply moved by the gesture, but my heart wanted to follow that spirit instead of cutting away after that song, so I chose what was, perhaps, an even more somber version of that piece to open this episode, and from there, we hear a collection of current Ukrainian goth, post-punk, deathrock, and darkwave artists to lead us into the traditional format of the show. Then, in closing this episode, we return to Ukraine to focus on the country's world-renowned dark metal scene. I also include some ambient and neoclassical pieces in between, as a canvas for my words on the subject, in each case -- ambient music from Shadowsun in the first break, and a piano piece from Endless Melancholy prior to the closing song of the show.

The first set's entirely Ukrainian cast begins with a trio of bands that hail from the capital city of Kyiv ("kee-yiv"), starting with a brand new single from post-punk/darkwave act The Pleroma, followed by a new song from the recently resurrected deathrock band Old Cat's Drama (see the video here), and rounded out by some driving goth rock from Icy Men's 2020 release, Low Light. We then fan out to other regions in the country, returning first to The Glass Beads for a deeper cut from their latest album, Therapy, then getting a first taste of the detached throbbing of Sexual Purity's new Suffer | Hope album. Finally, we close the set, back in Kyiv, with the title track (and video here) from the more dream-goth, shoegaze sounds of Gentle Ropes new Burning Flowers EP.

Set two finds us back in the traditional format of this show, kicking things off with a new single (and video) from the new Portland deathrock super-group Nyx Division (featuring members of OVER, False Figure, Cruz de Navajas, and more). We then visit New York City for some unabashed Killing Joke worship from new group 149, before looking back at the last full length from Sweden's A Projection, which I wanted to throw a new spotlight on after heaping praise on their 2021 single on the last episode. We then head back to the Pacific Northwest for some new darkwave from Washington's Datura, before rounding back to a 2021 release that I missed from the UK trad-goth band, The Last Cry. The set concludes with an unreleased track from post-Fields of the Nephilim act NFD's new 3-disc collection, Requiems from the Abyss.

Set three begins with some relatively new, but admittedly overlooked, post-punk from London's Zeropolis, before taking a trip to the vaults, beginning with a '90s goth club classic from Element, simply because it still holds up so well. We then visit the Hybrid version of Gary Numan's modern classic, "Dominion Day," in honor of his current tour (hitting Nashville March 7th). What's my favorite Skinny Puppy song? Probably "Killing Game," which is why I use it next to mark the 30th anniversary of their iconic Last Rights album (which happened earlier this year, while I was recapping the best of 2021). One more '90s goth classic slides in nicely after that, because the people need to be periodically reminded of Malign's Shatter and Impale CD, and then we close the set with a track deeper into the new Dalet album from Poland's Schröttersburg. 

As promised, set four returns us to Ukraine for a look at their highly respected dark metal scene. We begin with a double shot of Kharkiv's SVRM, taken from their brand new album, Червів майбутня здобич. Taking a more cosmic, atmospheric dark metal turn, we then hear a late debut from Киев's Raventale, before a '90s black metal classic from Nokturnal Mortum's Goat Horns LP crashes in. We then return to Severoth's 2020 Vsesvit album for a deeper cut, before closing the set with a brand new track from Drudkh. Although originally planned for release this fall, the band decided to prematurely issue the single and video for "Нічний  (The Nocturnal One)," as a beacon of hope for their fellow Ukrainians. Beyond the final talk break, the episode closes with "Die Klagen von Grau (in support of Ukraine)," reissued this week as a benefit single, from the Ukrainian-born German act Schattenfall.

 

All of that PLUS: A last-minute addition from Ulver, as part of the new "Slava Ukraini!" benefit compilation from House of Mythology; Further into Jim Williams' soundtrack work for the endurance test that is the film Titane; Selections from the goth, industrial, darkwave, and soundtrack vaults; and more!

 

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PLAYLIST BEGINS HERE
Format: Band Name - Song Title [Album Title, Year]

(each band name is also a website link)
(sets and talk breaks separated by dashes)

"Out ov the Coffin" w/ Ichabod
  Show recorded on: March 3rd, 2022

Opening Theme: 
Elliot Goldenthal - Libera Me [from "Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack), 1994]

Hoosli Ukrainian Male Chorus - Prayer for Ukraine  [Divine Liturgy, 2009]
-
Shadowsun - Remembrance  [Green Veil, 2022]
-
The Pleroma - Ничего  [single, 2022]
Old Cat's Drama - Crystal Signals [single, 2021]

Icy Men - Не спалось  [Low Light, 2020]
The Glass Beads - Monster  [Therapy, 2020]
Sexual Purity - Helpless  [Suffer | Hope, 2021]
Gentle Ropes - Burning Flowers  [Burning Flowers, 2021]
-
Ulver - Club Fuego  ["Slava Ukraini!" (benefit comp.) 2022]
-
Nyx Division - Orchid Rain  [single, 2022]
149 - Mayhem  [149, 2021]
A Projection - Lucy Shrine  [Section, 2019]
Datura - Everything Turns Black  [single, 2021]
The Last Cry - Lifeline Part One  [Lifeline, 2021]
NFD - Control (demo)  [Requiems from the Abyss, 2022]
-
Jim Williams – House Burning  ["Titane" (soundtrack) 2021]
-
Zeropolis - Your Life  [Zeropolis, 2020]
Element - The Sound of Angels  ["Goth's Undead" (comp.) 1997]
Gary Numan - Dominion Day (Remix)  [Hybrid, 2003]
Skinny Puppy - Killing Game  [Last Rights, 1992]
Malign - Shards of Glass  [Shatter and Impale, 1996]
Schröttersburg - W pokoju świateł  [Dalet, 2021]
-
Aman Folk Orchestra - Leave While You Can / Holy Ground  ["Subspecies" (soundtrack) 1991]
-
SVRM – Carceri / Смерть  [Червів майбутня здобич, 2022]
Raventale - A Temple of My Choice  [Planetarium II, 2020]
Nokturnal Mortum - Kolyada  [Goat Horns, 1997]
Severoth - Срібні Зорі Весни  [Vsesvit, 2020]
Drudkh - Нічний  (The Nocturnal One)  [single, 2022] watch the video here 
-
Endless Melancholy - We're Coming Home  [Landmarks, 2021]
-
Schattenfall - Die Klagen von Grau (in support of Ukraine)  [single, 2022]

 

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