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Say something interesting about Black Strobe here.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 28 March 2004 01:10 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe they already have a thread. searches didn't work.

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Sunday, 28 March 2004 01:11 (twenty-two years ago)

their singer has trouble pronouncing "madonna". great track though

― the surface noise (electricsound), Sunday, 28 March 2004 01:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Their remix of Cosmo Vitelli's Robot Soul is amazing.

― Xii (Xii), Sunday, 28 March 2004 02:22 (twenty-two years ago)

reccomendations please!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 28 March 2004 02:27 (twenty-two years ago)

search: "Innerstrings", "Italian Fireflies", "Me and Madonna",
"The Abwehr Tango"

search (remixes): The Rapture "Sister Savior", Dave Clarke "What Was Her Name", Dominatrix "The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight", Tiefschwarz "Ghosttrack"

― Sean Thomas (sgthomas), Sunday, 28 March 2004 05:58 (twenty-two years ago)

slocki apparently he played with tiga last night. Did you go/hear anything about it? I wanted to go but it was expensive and very late and I was tired.

― Elliot (Elliot), Sunday, 28 March 2004 06:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Quite like the Martini Bros - The Biggest Fan remix too.

― Mil, Sunday, 28 March 2004 08:59 (twenty-two years ago)

they're ok. wallpaper electro, really. search: me and madonna, innerstrings and the martini bros remix. it's all worth a listen though.

― don, Sunday, 28 March 2004 09:27 (twenty-two years ago)

used to love 'innerstrings' and took every opportunity to play it out but their tracks could do with a little editing for home listening use.

― nick.K (nick.K), Sunday, 28 March 2004 11:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Also search their remix of Number One by Playgroup.

And Ivan Smagghe's Death Disco, and How To Kill The DJ mixes. Not heard his new one yet.

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 28 March 2004 12:46 (twenty-two years ago)

And that amazing track on DJ Kaos's '02 Christmas gift cd!!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 28 March 2004 12:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Also good Eple - Röyksopp remix. Apparently crap live, at least so I've been told. Has Smagghe's Death Disco mix album been mentioned yet? Bleep!

― JoB (JoB), Sunday, 28 March 2004 14:48 (twenty-two years ago)

sean otm about the remixes. i love the rapture and dominatrix ones. plus they're really nice guys.

― lauren (laurenp), Sunday, 28 March 2004 22:55 (twenty-two years ago)

they played here last night? really? i'm so out of it.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 28 March 2004 23:08 (twenty-two years ago)

they're the guys that did that awesome track on that karat comp that's kicking my ass right now! 'fall down rise-up'...it's like the best videogame music ever!

― geeta (geeta), Monday, 29 March 2004 01:53 (twenty-two years ago)

zzzz

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 29 March 2004 01:58 (twenty-two years ago)

i like the "ghost track" remix but everything else is "eh"

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 29 March 2004 01:58 (twenty-two years ago)

(if i was being particularly mean i would say "vitalic-lite")

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 29 March 2004 01:59 (twenty-two years ago)

"Me & Madonna" is a bit uninspiring true - but the Volga Select track (also on the Channel 2 comp and by Smagge I think) is great.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 29 March 2004 02:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I like Me & Madonna! It's very indie I guess but I love it.

― Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 29 March 2004 12:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha the only thing I've heard is the Me & Madonna/Like I Love You mashup which is awesome... that and the Ghosttrack remix which is similarly great.

Vitalic-lite is absolutely fine with me bearing in mind the real Vitalic don't seem to be doing much at the moment.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Monday, 29 March 2004 12:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Their remix of Sir Drew's 'Shemale' kicks my ass. Same for 'Robot Soul'. Volga Select remixed something on Paris' Pet label - forgot the name but it's electro-pop niceness. The Sonovac mix of 'Innerstrings' - rough.

― Barima (Barima), Monday, 29 March 2004 13:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Black Strobe only sound like Vitalic on that Tiefschwarz remix.

I also like Fitting Together and that Sir Drew remix.

― Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 29 March 2004 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah "Fitting Together"!!!

The Justin/Black Strobe bootleg is brilliant - demonstrates completely that the only problem with "Me & Madonna" was the vocal.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 29 March 2004 21:39 (twenty-two years ago)

It's so odd for a dance track to use a vocal which one way or another has been done by shite pop punk one hit wonders about 15 times.

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 08:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I also like Fitting Together

What's that?

― JoB (JoB), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 12:51 (twenty-two years ago)

It was on the Hooj Choons Le Future Le Funk mix last year. Original track by Black Strobe.

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 12:53 (twenty-two years ago)

You have to worry when someone validates their liking for an artist due to them being "really nice guys".

― ___ (___), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 12:58 (twenty-two years ago)

fitting together also b-side to "me & madonna" 12"

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 30 March 2004 22:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Thanks, I knew I had that somewhere. I prefer the Two Fairlight Bitches Remix, without the vocals...

― JoB (JoB), Tuesday, 13 April 2004 11:14 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

whoa who's heard "The Abwehr Disco" then?

I played it at work today and felt guilty afterwards it was so dark and menacing. That synth after a minute or so!

Brilliant track, perhaps their best to date.

― Ronan (Ronan), Saturday, 17 July 2004 16:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, that's a great track, though I can't decide whether I like "Abwehr Tango" or "Abwehr Disco" better: "Disco" is a lot heavier and more oppressive, where "Tango" is a bit more spacious (though it lacks that great overdriven synth you mentioned).

Not so sold on the "Chemical Sweet Girl" A-side, though -- I guess I just like their italo-influenced stuff more than their Front 242/EBM stuff...

― Sean Thomas (sgthomas), Saturday, 17 July 2004 17:17 (twenty-one years ago)

(not that there's a hard and fast line there, of course)

― Sean Thomas (sgthomas), Saturday, 17 July 2004 17:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah I don't think Chemical Sweet Girl is great either, just doesn't really gel, like Italian Fireflies it's a bit ambiguous.

― Ronan (Ronan), Saturday, 17 July 2004 17:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Man alive - this 'Abwher Disco' is going to eat me alive! What a track.

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 26 July 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

just heard their Axel F cover and I can't get that damn melody out of my head

― manuel (manuel), Sunday, 10 October 2004 22:32 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

the Essential Mix is really amazing isn't it?

I mean "The Abwehr Disco" hinted at their Vitalic style rawness, but this mix really hammers that home, imagine seeing them play!

― Ronan (Ronan), Saturday, 8 January 2005 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

The WIT remix is my new hottness.

― Captain GRRRios' Giggletits (Barima), Saturday, 8 January 2005 14:59 (twenty-one years ago)

the Essential Mix is really amazing isn't it?

Total acid madness! (although I did seem them play a set for 2 men, a dog and an alien from the planet Trainspotter somewhere in Paris way back when nobody knew them and well...all they're stuff nowaday is a bit facile, you know just jumping on whatever trend passes them by. ;)

imagine seeing them play

Yeah they have beards. Cool.

― Omar (Omar), Saturday, 8 January 2005 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Has anyone heard the Rammstein remix? That ought to be awesome.

― JoB (JoB), Saturday, 8 January 2005 15:30 (twenty-one years ago)

two weeks pass...

oh no I really like the WIT mix!

― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 January 2005 18:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Me too. I put it on a crushtape.

― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 28 January 2005 21:30 (twenty-one years ago)

which hasn't worked yet, perhaps I should have put "The Abwehr Disco" on instead.

― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 28 January 2005 21:30 (twenty-one years ago)

that's for CRUSH tapes

― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 January 2005 21:39 (twenty-one years ago)

tapes for people you want to crush?

― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 28 January 2005 21:41 (twenty-one years ago)

YEAH.

You know - puny humans, people like that.

― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 January 2005 21:47 (twenty-one years ago)

that would be a good tape.

― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 28 January 2005 21:49 (twenty-one years ago)

make it! post it!

― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Friday, 28 January 2005 23:38 (twenty-one years ago)

TECHNOLOGIC

― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 28 January 2005 23:40 (twenty-one years ago)

"fabric 23: ivan smagghe"

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY

the essential mix = 10x as good as "suck my deck" or "death disco"

how many times must i tell you people??

smagghe is the fuse ... rebotini is the spark ... BLACKSTROBE IS THE BOMB

― vahid (vahid), Thursday, 10 February 2005 05:42 (twenty-one years ago)

anyway even though smagghe's disappointed me twice now, i'm still excited enough to post mp3s

from 1991, credited to one morgan lekcirt and one "ellis d." (not to be confused with ellis dee)

also from 1991, i just like this one, i don't know why, it reminds me of blackstrobe but even more of miss kittin

― vahid (vahid), Thursday, 10 February 2005 05:59 (twenty-one years ago)

yay!

― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Thursday, 10 February 2005 06:01 (twenty-one years ago)

those are yousendit links (sorry)

the first record has truly astounding cover art

the second is much more minimal but you can see from whence the power flows ... "what are you doing with your hand, beavis?"

well if anybody likes those let me know and maybe i'll get my mp3 blog off the ground.

― vahid (vahid), Thursday, 10 February 2005 06:01 (twenty-one years ago)

hey ok Blackstrobe Fabric would be better but Smagghe's mixes are all really really good! and always different!

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 February 2005 10:34 (twenty-one years ago)

If the mix is anything like his set at Fabric before Christmas it will be mindbendingly good.

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 10 February 2005 10:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I have to say is anyone else kind of a bit miffed with the idea of it being Fabric TWENTY THREE by now, I mean for fuck's sake it's like pokemon. I don't want anymore of those boxes and I find it faintly sickening that Fabric have created such a strong brand for mix cds, there's a sort of horrible inevitability about all of them.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:06 (twenty-one years ago)

even if they are often good!

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Ronan, you are outdoing yourself this time.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I mean, isn't anyone else getting really annoyed that all these great mix CDs keep dropping off the production line with such crushing inevitability?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm starting to wonder if this Rammstein mix everyone's going on about was the big heavy Abwehr Disco x10 one Smagghe played near the end of his Fabric set that sent everyone mental. Generally I'm a bit meh on Black Strobe remixes, they seem to glower in a pretty clumsy way - like that Rapture one when they just seem to go for 'wooo, scary!' without really bothering to check whether it fits the song, but I think something like Rammstein would suit them.

I like the Ghosttrack and Something To Do mixes because they suit 'woo, scary!' so well.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh no! What a disaster, another good mix cd! Ronan, wtf are you chatting about?

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 10 February 2005 11:32 (twenty-one years ago)

His wallet perhaps?

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Thursday, 10 February 2005 12:43 (twenty-one years ago)

No, look they're all really good but doesn't the branded aspect of it bother anyone else? Like at least Eskimo or somebody try and really distinguish each release, give it a decent title, always good and specifically tailored graphic design.

There are a wealth of good mix albums out there at the moment, more than ever and not just on Fabric, like more than anyone could buy, I think. I'm not just moaning for the sake of it, I just think Fabric getting all the big names gets kind of boring.

What is a "Fabric" mix, when someone does it? It's really devoid of character as a stable for releasing DJ mixes. As I said Eskimo release loads of good mixes and always put the effort in that Fabric don't.

I'm surprised by the reaction to my first comment, I'd have thought most people would agree!

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 February 2005 14:29 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.tranzfusion.net/images/articles/headma_RESIZED.jpg

http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/z/zzchicagoboogiepresen_101b.jpg

http://gullbuy.com/images/smagghedeath.jpg

http://www.nlisp.nl/~adf/images/Club-Culture-Club-Compilation.jpg

http://www.residentadvisor.net/images/reviews/summer_madness.jpg

Just a bit of imagination in each one at least. The mixes should be about the DJ doing them, not the club. Now as I said the Fabric mixes are good, it is just an irritant for me, that's all.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 February 2005 14:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Branding aspect, eh, not really. Fabric *is* a big brand, you can't get away from it. It's not suddenly going to try and lose that advantage by making every cd look different, is it? The whole point of the series is cross promotion. People who go to the club buy the cd, and people who buy the cd go to the club. The stuff on the cds is representative of what gets played there; they really do serve as genuine samplers. And in the other direction you can even buy the cds from a vending machine on the way out of the club.

And the reason Fabric gets the big names is cos they like playing there! It's that simple.

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 10 February 2005 15:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I accept all that but it's not ideal.

Put it this way, wouldn't you rather anyone else was releasing the mixes? I know I would.

Surely the real reason they get the big names is that the CDs sell 10000 just cos of being part of the Fabric series. It is possible to brand stuff and not make them all look the same, I know that Eskimo stuff sells more where I work, but then maybe that's cos people can listen first and Eskimo have a higher good/bad ratio than Fabric.

I dunno, like are these Fabric CDs going to simply go on forever? It's kind of scary!

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 February 2005 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

And yeah I know it's fairly pointless to argue for artistic principles versus guaranteed cash but I've not seen people so bothered by Fabric yet, in this way, and it surprises me a little.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 February 2005 15:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Actually, no. As it stands these mixes are very easy to get hold of. Even if someone as big as eg Kompakt were putting them out I couldn't just stroll into a provincial HMV and pick up a copy. It's surely better for the artists and better for the consumers that these things get as wide a distribution as possible, no? I mean, I know for a fact that if I still lived in York there is no way I would be able to buy anything like the Mayer or Weatherhall mixes without resorting to mail order.

Having said that, having one name dominating utterly is unhealthy, but still, I'd rather some of this stuff has a truly universal distribution than not at all. It's possibly worth noting that the reason Fabric *has* become such a major player *and* that you're noticing it is that it is the one superclub brand that has actually managed to retain a fairly consistent level of quality. Fuck knows how many heavily branded Ministry Of Sound cds have been released over the years, certainly more than forty.

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 10 February 2005 15:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I suppose you can look at it two ways. Either 'oh no! all the best mixes are on this big corporate clubbing brand label'. Or 'hurrah! finally, a big corporate clubbing brand label putting out consistently good/interesting cds'.

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 10 February 2005 15:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Fair point, especially about how it has become a big player. The standard of the mixes is good but they are also quite safe bets alot of the time, the DJs they pick. Eg many of them have already achieved elsewhere first.

I guess it's a different way of marketing, with Eskimo stuff I personally find there's a real sense of excitement about the way each project is branded, and given a different theme, it's like everything is considered. Whereas with Fabric it's like, "now we have Ivan Smagghe, whom we know you also like". I think Vahid is a bit of an Eskimo nut perhaps, so maybe he'll step in at some stage!

I don't think all the best mixes are necessarily on Fabric either, there are probably 5 or 6 really good ones though. I just think it'd be kind of crap if in 3 years time it's like Fabric 56 etc. Can Fabric actually stay cool in this way for long?

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 February 2005 16:06 (twenty-one years ago)

eskimo recordings is truly awesome. but i don't think it's fair (to fabric!) to compare the two labels. it'd be a bit like comparing soul jazz to rhino.

eskimo is a boutique label - they can keep the quality control pretty damn high (and so far i've really only been let down by "death disco" (and maybe a bit by "serie noir 2" but only from the viewpoint of "adonis, PiL, die warzau and mr fingers again??"), everything else has been solid gold.

yeah, fabric is a superclub label, and while they're doing a super job of it, ronan is right that they often swerve off from their winning streaks into total crap - dj heather and joe ransom?? but that's what happens when you have a subscription duties to fulfill!!!

(see also fabric 5: pure science - did they decide to release a pure science artist album because somebody dropped out last minute?? or did they not have the time to clear licensing for a pure science mix??)

as for the question of "can fabric actually stay cool", even though i am a big fan of the early work (awesome volumes from craig richards, tony humphries, tyler stadius, james lavelle, deadly avenger and grooverider) their hit:miss ratio actually seems to be gradually ramping up from 1/2 to somewhere around 2/3 or 3/4 ... so who knows?

― vahid (vahid), Thursday, 10 February 2005 19:31 (twenty-one years ago)

actually soul jazz is something of a compromise between eskimo and fabric, isn't it?? very focused and coherent branding while retaining the quality edge of a boutique label.

but you'd expect that, because

1) they've been in the promoting/mixtapes game much longer than either eskimo or fabric (and ronan is more right than we give him credit for in his comparison, because while it can get a bit lost in the shuffle, the eskimo recordings mixes are pretty much all promo material for the glimmer twins club activities)

2) they're damn fucking expensive!! big premium on quality!!

― vahid (vahid), Thursday, 10 February 2005 19:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Well dammit. Looks like Fabric have mixes from Ricardo Villalobos (!) and Tiefschwarz (!!) in the pipe as well. And Fabric releases cost like $25 here in the States, not to mention the only ones I can find locally are five copies of the Grooverider mix that have been sitting on the rack at the local Wherehouse since the day it came out. Le sigh.

― Telephone Thing, Friday, 11 February 2005 00:50 (twenty-one years ago)

three weeks pass...

the new single's b - side is called 'nazi trance fuck off'. hilarious!

― stirmonster, Thursday, 10 March 2005 10:46 (twenty-one years ago)

what can they mean?

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 March 2005 10:51 (twenty-one years ago)

It's an old person's music reference Ronan - you wouldn't understand.

― Alba (Alba), Thursday, 10 March 2005 10:52 (twenty-one years ago)

and the a - side is about as EBM as it gets. '85 flashback!

― stirmonster, Thursday, 10 March 2005 10:59 (twenty-one years ago)

what's it called, the a-side? I wonder is it on the Essential Mix.

We have them playing on Wednesday which should be cool.

― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 10 March 2005 11:21 (twenty-one years ago)

a-side is called 'deceive / play'. tell 'em i said hello.

― stirmonster, Thursday, 10 March 2005 11:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Has that Rammstein mix surfaced yet? I know a single came out a couple of weeks back but have no idea whether the Black Strobe remix was an official release.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 10 March 2005 11:29 (twenty-one years ago)

rammstein mix has surfaced. it sounds exactly how you think it will sound.

― stirmonster, Thursday, 10 March 2005 11:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Put on yr shiny boots, we're going to march down the street:

Keine Lust (Black Strobe mix

― Omar (Omar), Thursday, 10 March 2005 11:49 (twenty-one years ago)

two months pass...

Donut, I think you should revive a Black Strobe thread and make people cry.

-- Ned Raggett (ne...), May 13th, 2005.

OK, now I like Black Strobe a lot.. and they certainly are an ILM favorite.. but may i vent?

WHY CAN'T ALL YOU BLACK STROBE WORSHIPPING FUCKERS APPRECIATE THAT, AS FUN AS THEY ARE, THEY ARE ULTIMATELY A FUCKING FRONT 242 RIP-OFF THROUGH AND THROUGH?

Ok, I'm better now.

-- donut debonair (do...), May 13th, 2005.

― donut debonair (donut), Friday, 13 May 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

it's so true. except front were much, much better.

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Friday, 13 May 2005 20:18 (twenty years ago)

I am glad there is agreement.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 May 2005 20:18 (twenty years ago)

I mean, I love "Chemical Sweet Girl" and "The Abzehr Disco" and pretty much that whole EP.. haven't had a chance to listen to "Nazi Trance Fuck Off", and I plan to, tonight...

But... come on!

― donut debonair (donut), Friday, 13 May 2005 20:21 (twenty years ago)

after years of hearing people claim nitzer ebb ripped off daf, while giving liaisons dangereuses a free pass, im afraid i must insist on evidence

― fe zaffe (fezaffe), Friday, 13 May 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

Ur, but Liaisons Dangereuses featured a guy from DAF. I think that's a free pass worth warranting for obvious reasons!

Anyway evidence..

Black Strobe "Chemical Sweet Girl" (original) vs. Front 242 "Motion"

― donut debonair (donut), Friday, 13 May 2005 21:26 (twenty years ago)

Mind you, I'm not saying Front 242 are the holy grail of original dance music themselves. Their first album Geography from 1981 was pure late 70s Kraftwerk rip-off.

― donut debonair (donut), Friday, 13 May 2005 21:28 (twenty years ago)

"Chemical Sweet Girl" is a bit of an anomaly in the Black Strobe's back catalogue though (as is the most common version of "Me & Madonna").

There's still a strong Front 242 feel in their other stuff, but I don't think anyone's going out of their way not to acknowledge this. The entire angle by which people praise Black Strobe is that they've reinjected that Front 242/Nietzer Ebb/DAF vibe back into conventional, club-based dance music. The ongoing neglect that those groups receive generally could be saved by a good reissue policy I think.

I think we need an album from Black Strobe to do a proper quantative comparison; I certainly don't think you can dismiss them at this stage when they've been responsible for "Innerstrings (Volga Select Double Dub)", "Narcodancer", "Fitting Together", "The Abwehr Disco", the remixes of Tiefschwarz, Rammstein and Dave Clarke, and partially "The Unconditional Discipline of the Bastard Prince".

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 13 May 2005 22:31 (twenty years ago)

Yep what Tim said. Also the Abusator remix (but i seem to be the only one who thinks this is their moment of glory.)

― Omar (Omar), Saturday, 14 May 2005 04:50 (twenty years ago)

back around 99/00, my girlfriend at the time, who was hugely into wax trax etc. in high school and college (she's around brian's age or so), was trying to school me: "this stuff is really influential and is going to be huge again some day." and since i was in a strictly rap/rnb/ukg/jungle phase at the time, i was like "okay, whatever you say." never thought i'd see the day.

― strng hlkngtn, Saturday, 14 May 2005 12:23 (twenty years ago)

I've been in love with the idea of this music being the future ever since I saw The Living End at a tender age.

Probably more in love with this idea than with the music itself.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 14 May 2005 12:27 (twenty years ago)

I also want to add that, in the absence of any relevant Front 242 today, for intents and purposes, Black Strobe is definitely filling that niche well enough, wherever and whenever they can.

I mean, I'd take Black Strobe 10x over Front 242 today! I fell off the 242 wagon after 05:22:09:12 Off from 1993 or so.

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 14 May 2005 19:59 (twenty years ago)

..and Black Strobe >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> any Front Line Assembly ever.

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 14 May 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

In fact, Bill Lieb is probably plotting to sample Black Strobe on the next FLA album called, oh, I dunno... Futurefuck In The Boiler Room Seance or whatever bullshit name he can come up with.

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 14 May 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

Oh you cynic.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 14 May 2005 20:05 (twenty years ago)

"Oh You Cynic" is almost the title of the new FLA single. It's actually called "Oh You Cyanide".

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 14 May 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

(Trent was right back in 1992.. he was crucified for his dismissal of FLA back then.. I agreed with him then. I think time has shown the clear "winner" there, succinctly.)

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 14 May 2005 20:10 (twenty years ago)

So, I'm listening to "Nazi Trance Fuck Off", and I'm just not feeling it.. It sounds like ZYX/Technodrome stuff mixed with early Eric Radcliffe stuff like Yaz or Speak And Spell era Depeche Mode, or more like the late 80s Razormaid era stuff, but just slightly less good. The synth layers are neat and something not as present in the sources I cited, but still.. it's alright, just not revelatory.

Did I listen to yet another unrepresentative Black Strobe track?

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 14 May 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

No "Nazi Trance Fuck Off" is fairly representative but it's not amazing. It's possible that people are over-praising for its name alone.

Donut have you heard "Narcodancer"??? It is the absolute unsung gem in their backcatalogue.

Also Phil Sherburne included an awesome track "Pins & Needles" in a mix he did last year but I don't know if it's been formally released yet.

"Audika" is also good but a bit slow - I prefer it sped up in its bootlegged with "Like I Love You" form.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 15 May 2005 23:33 (twenty years ago)

Depeche Mode - Something To Do (Blackstrobe remix)
The Hacker, Millimetric &David Caretta - Moskow Reise (Blackstrobe remix)
Oscar - Loa (Blackstrobe remix)

...and of course Black Strobe - Italian Fireflies...

Fine, fine electro riffery.

― Pistola, Sunday, 15 May 2005 23:58 (twenty years ago)

six months pass...

I know we've had some chat about the "Other Side Of Paris" mix elsewhere. I got it yesterday, even though I was kind of tiring of the endless Smagghe-related mixes and wondering if I needed another, but it was oh so pretty and the tracklisting looked so exciting and mysterious and...this is just great!

I never really had a goth phase, but I think I'm going out to buy a long black leather coat today and move to Belleville or something. I've actually never heard Front 242 before this mix (!) but now I'm very curious. I also bought a Rammstein record because of the Keine Lust remix!

I'm sort of wondering if all music shouldn't be like this. for today anyway!

http://www.brujah.com/benter.gif http://party-supplies-mall.com/disco-ball/disco-ball.jpg

― F.R.I.E.N.D. (nordicskilla), Friday, 18 November 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

So is there a plugin for Garageband that will help me get those echoey goth vocals? Or do I just talk with my tongue in the back of my throat?

― F.R.I.E.N.D. (nordicskilla), Friday, 18 November 2005 18:46 (twenty years ago)

DUDE GET FRONT BY FRONT. Opinions differ on the best Front 242 album, but if anyone tells you anything different they are wrong. (You will want/need the rest of them afterward, though.) Also search out DAF's Die Kleinen und Die Bosen and Alles Ist Gut and Nitzer Ebb's That Total Age, Beliefe and Showtime for a quick 'n' cheap EBM/industrial primer.

― telephone thing, Friday, 18 November 2005 23:01 (twenty years ago)

Cheap in the sense of "cheap and cheerful," that is, not cheap moneywise (*cough*Soulseek*cough*). Though for whatever reason, the used stores where I live have been inundated with Front 242 stuff lately...

― telephone thing, Friday, 18 November 2005 23:02 (twenty years ago)

I feel very similarly to Adam about Black Strobe actually, it makes me wonder was I a goth in another life. I love even their gothiest moments quite alot. I have played "Decieve/Play" and seen it go down weirdly so so so many times.

― Ronan (Ronan), Saturday, 19 November 2005 22:19 (twenty years ago)

Everything is goth in the end. You will all come around.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 19 November 2005 22:27 (twenty years ago)

four weeks pass...

OMG watching the "Other Side Of Paris" DVD now - Smagghe and Rebotini gallavanting around Paris, such elegant and decadent hosts! Has anyone else seen this? Ivan has a really odd accent, I like it.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Saturday, 17 December 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

I'm thinking of moving to Paris.

So fickle.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Saturday, 17 December 2005 20:15 (twenty years ago)

Ronan, come and play out in SF!

Black Strobe - if you're reading this, you too! I'm sure all the goth kids hanging around the malls of Pleasanton and Hayward would totally dig it.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Saturday, 17 December 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

The Paris DVD is the best of the lot- Smagghe and Rebotini are by far the best hosts (and Damian Lazarus doesn't even show up on the DVD side of the London disc!). Great mix too.

― telephone thing, Saturday, 17 December 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

Adam, have you got that Jennygoesdirty single "Amoreux Solitaires" that came out on Kill The DJ this year? If not check it out, it has a very Black Strobe feel to it, all the mixes.

― Ronan (Ronan), Saturday, 17 December 2005 20:57 (twenty years ago)

No!

I will, thank you.

― [jailhouse tattoo] (nordicskilla), Saturday, 17 December 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

going to see them tomorrow night! been thrashing the other side of paris, & i'm still not getting sick of "the abwehr disco".

― etc, Thursday, 2 March 2006 05:35 (twenty years ago)

Has "Shining Bright Star" been released on vinyl yet?

― telephone thing, Thursday, 2 March 2006 07:30 (twenty years ago)

what happened to these guys? what are they doing?

― geeta (geeta), Thursday, 2 March 2006 14:48 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

wait, I didn't follow this up? (& tim, sorry for not emailing you abou this; + I'll be able to make it to the post office later in the week)

so, I figured they'd be DJing w/maybe a sampler or something, but they were a full on BAND!!! three butch french goths all in cut-off black tees (arnaud's was plain, gtr/bass/keys guy's was sisters of mercy, drummer's was . . . . dandy warhols?!) stomping around, plundering the back catalogue. the drummer was keerazy - had this huge kit that he'd metronomically thrash/recreate everything on while managing to um "mix" between the different tracks - they didn't let up once! arnaud would prowl up & down the stage & terrorise the crowd, & I finally um "got" their vocals - "me & madonna" = excellent live, was nice to hear "bright shining star" for the first time; & me & my friend went absolutely apeshit to "the abwehr disco". came across as such a metal band! no Ivan, sadly. & the DJ before them played a great remix of "all I ever wanted"! didn't get to ask her who'd done it, though.

― etc, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 06:56 (twenty years ago)

that sounds amazing!!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 07:03 (twenty years ago)

anyone heard this?

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 07:19 (twenty years ago)

wow - that sounds pretty great. Where was that?

― Le Baaderonixx de Benedict Canyon (baaderonixx), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 10:00 (twenty years ago)

I still can't believe I lamed out of seeing THAT. goddamnit.

― haitch (haitch), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 10:15 (twenty years ago)

seven months pass...

new album? produced by paul epworth??

― H2-H4 (H2-H4), Sunday, 5 November 2006 03:46 (nineteen years ago)

Just got a promo of their forthcoming remix comp! It's really good!

― Douglas (Douglas), Sunday, 5 November 2006 04:12 (nineteen years ago)

new album? produced by paul epworth??

I'd read that he'd just remixed "Shining Bright Star", but yeah I wanna hear this RIGHT THE FUCK NOW

― James.Cobo (jamescobo), Sunday, 5 November 2006 10:04 (nineteen years ago)

Ooh... Any info you can share on that remix comp? Title, tracklist, label, anything is more than welcome.

― Telephonething (Telephonething), Sunday, 5 November 2006 10:08 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.remixblackstrobe.com/Podcast/7CD73EA6-68FC-4444-AB14-5EE68396FDF6.html

― James.Cobo (jamescobo), Sunday, 5 November 2006 10:16 (nineteen years ago)

I thought they had effectively broken up when Arnaud began releasing his own stuff on electrohouse labels....

Is Ivan involved in this album?

― Ronan (Ronan), Sunday, 5 November 2006 11:14 (nineteen years ago)

yes he is! (well, so says the internets.)

― H2-H4 (H2-H4), Sunday, 5 November 2006 12:18 (nineteen years ago)

I don't understand: why would they need Paul Epworth to produce their album? They're not The Rapture. If anyone already has a production aesthetic it's Black Strobe.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 5 November 2006 13:16 (nineteen years ago)

i thought it odd that they weren't self producing too but i'm guessing that it is the black strobe band in the studio (drummer, keyboardist and guitarist too) as opposed to just ivan and arnaud. maybe play louder felt it had more chance of crossing over if it had more of a rock production?

― stirmonster (stirmonster), Sunday, 5 November 2006 14:01 (nineteen years ago)

five months pass...

;___;

― haitch, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:20 (eighteen years ago)

Gah.

I like tracks 1 and 10 on the new album but some of the rest is a bit wanky thus far.

― Michael Philip Philip Philip philip Annoyman, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:23 (eighteen years ago)

10 being the insane one with the disco beat and echoing guitars and heavy accented "ah jooot want to feeerk" slobbering

― Michael Philip Philip Philip philip Annoyman, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:24 (eighteen years ago)

joost, sorry.

― Michael Philip Philip Philip philip Annoyman, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:24 (eighteen years ago)

This is a bad deal for all concerned. It means Smagghe can concentrate on his increasingly lumpen and dull DJing and Arnaud can turn them into some woeful third rate industrial act.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 15:25 (eighteen years ago)

I think I might end up in the minority on this one, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the album. Mercifully they haven't thrown the electro baby out with the bathwater. As Black Strobe were never exactly subtle to begin with, the noisy guitars go well with the overdriven synths and there are some big fuck off riffs in there as well (one bluesy track about half way through in particular).

There are a couple of clunkers in there and I kind of wish Arnaud would sing less but overall it's much better than I expected.

― Matt DC, Monday, 7 May 2007 17:41 (eighteen years ago)

They might be trying a little too hard with all this BLACK STROBE SMASH PUNY HOUSE MUSIC stuff, I'll admit.

― Matt DC, Monday, 7 May 2007 17:42 (eighteen years ago)

four years pass...

Any thoughts on Arnaud's new one? Sounds pretty good to me, especially the slower tracks.

― mmmm, Thursday, 19 May 2011 21:03 (fourteen years ago)

four months pass...

Possibly my fav of the year. Just great.

― mmmm, Saturday, 24 September 2011 19:12 (fourteen years ago)

one year passes...

what the fuck is this shit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viaD_9xEo00

― muus lääv? :D muus dut :( (Telephone thing), Tuesday, 9 July 2013 19:17 (twelve years ago)

two years pass...

black strobe : goth electro. hit and miss.

arnaud rebotini : fucking brilliant analogue electronica. 'the first 13 minutes of love' is the best thing that tangerine dream never made in 1979.

― mark e, Sunday, 27 December 2015 21:48 (ten years ago)

black strobe had a good few hits imo. their essential mix was really great: https://soundcloud.com/ash-bradshaw/blackstrobe-essential-mix-28

― japanese mage (LocalGarda), Monday, 28 December 2015 10:55 (ten years ago)

is that arnaud a new record?

― japanese mage (LocalGarda), Monday, 28 December 2015 10:55 (ten years ago)

Arnaud's album for a couple of years ago was pretty great iirc, it was like a goth Delia and Gavin.

― Matt DC, Monday, 28 December 2015 12:23 (ten years ago)

LG : this is the album that features the track i mentioned, and the one that Matt is on about :

http://www.discogs.com/Arnaud-Rebotini-Someone-Gave-Me-Religion/master/340983

far better than the black strobe stuff.

― mark e, Monday, 28 December 2015 12:36 (ten years ago)

For some reason at the time, Black Strobe made me feel like an EBM revival was just around the corner.. there were those Ivan Smagghe mixes around the same time as well that kind of hinted at it. The ~dark~ side of electro-house

― lute bro (brimstead), Sunday, 3 January 2016 00:40 (ten years ago)

four years pass...

https://soundcloud.com/arnaudrebotini

arnaud has been playing with his machines while in lockdown and posting the results (and some excellent remixes) on his soundcloud.

'digital lockdown' is very classic era cabs.

― mark e, Saturday, 4 April 2020 19:41 (six years ago)

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