Eff Dst

OUTRO 2023 + TOP 25 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Referring to the events that unfolded globally, 2023 has again been a bloody, terrible year. Music continues to be a true therapy for soothing pain and suffering, though it seems to have a diminishing impact on the ongoing horror. Therefore, I’m once again wrapping up the year with a personal selection of my very own ‘best of’ albums. Throughout the year, over 700 productions were selected, and 450 reviews were conducted. Some productions were declined because the style of music didn’t fit, others weren’t reviewed for not being ‘good enough’, while a final portion of reviews will be postponed to early 2024. I am immensely grateful to all the labels, bands, and promoters for considering my work, and I look forward to collaborating again in 2024.

I extend my deepest gratitude and thanks to Rich Bova (NEIKKA RPM), who has been reading, correcting, and improving the reviews for many years. Without Rich, these reviews would not exist. I also want to thank Bernard Van Isacker, chief editor of Side-Line Music Magazine, for our ongoing, successful collaboration. Last but not least, I thank my lovely wife, Katja, for giving me the time and freedom to pursue my passion.

However…

Looking ahead to 2024, I’ve been scaling back my activities for a few years and plan to reduce them further. Having started with my first reviews and interviews back in 1991, I feel the end drawing near. My aim is to reach 2025, but nothing is certain. I’ve grown a bit tired and disillusioned with how things are evolving. That’s why I want to express a big ‘F*** you’ to so-called ‘artists’ and label owners who fail to realize or appreciate the work I do in creating reviews and preparing interviews to spotlight them. Guys, I do this for free and in my free time! The attitude and lack of respect shown by some – fortunately a very few – is very, very sad. But, I’m afraid it reflects the world we live in. Behind a genius artist doesn’t always stand a great person. It’s odd realizing that the ‘biggest’ and long-established artists in this scene are often the most accessible.

Writing reviews remains highly subjective and a source of discussion. Remember, it’s always the reviewer’s perception. I assure you, I always strive to substantiate my reviews as best as possible. A review is subjective but must be honest!

Like every year, I’ve selected the best albums of the year 2023. This ‘TOP 25’ encompasses various styles like EBM, Dark-Electro, IDM, Synth-Pop, Ethereal, Dark-Ambient, Industrial, Ritual, Cinematic, Gothic, Post-Punk, Cold/Dark-Wave, Dark-Techno, and a few related genres. It’s always an exciting yet challenging task.

This ‘TOP 25’ is based on the promotional material I received, excluding compilations, ‘best of’ productions, EPs, and singles. So, here’s my ‘TOP 25’ from 2023, and don’t forget to share it with your friends…

Stéphane Froidcoeur (for Inferno Sound Diaries/Side-Line Reviews)

TOP 25 ALBUMS 2023

01 Cerulean Veins “Black” Cold Transmission
02 Liebknecht “Fabrikat” Ant Zen
03 Frontier Guards “Colony” Aliens production label
04 Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows (offiziell) “Alone At Sam’s – An Evening With…” Apocalyptic Vision / Trisol Music Group
05 Waveshard “Waveshard” Corvus Records

06 the_empath “Black Hole” audiophob
07 VNV Nation “Electric Sun” Metropolis Records
08 Eff Dst “Incarnate” Ant-Zen
09 Enzo Kreft “XL” Enzo Kreft
10 Deleyaman “The Sudbury Inn” TTO Records

11 Girls Under Glass “Backdraft” Dependent Records
12 Alien Vampires “Return Me To Hell” Alfa Matrix
13 Sun's Spectrum “The Silence After The Fall” Cold Transmission Music
14 Daniel Myer “Hingab” Sonic Groove
15 Shrouds “Shrouds” Hands

16 Diary of Dreams “Melancholin” Accession Records
17 MonoInc “Ravenblack” NoCut Entertainment
18 ROME (ROME (Jerome Reuter) “Gates Of Europe” Trisol
19 𝕺𝖍𝖓𝖊 𝕹𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖓 “The S-Witch” Cold Transmission Music
20 THE SEVEN WH**ES OF THE APOCALYPSE “All Through The Waste” Scanner / Dark Dimensions

21 spankthenun “The Bunker Tapes Vol.3” SpankTheNun
22 Blackcarburning “Watching Sleepers” COP International
23 God Body Disconnect “The Weight Of Regression” Cryo Chamber
24 Mildreda “Blue-Devilled” Dependent Records
25 PASCAL SAVY “Simulacra” Cyclic Law

The Chemical Brothers, John Frusciante, Autechre, Lusine и другие крутые релизы продолжаем исследовать все самое интересное, что выходило у самых разных музыкантов на самых разных лейблах и сегодня вас ждет новая подборка классных релизо...

REVIEW

Eff Dst – Incarnate (Album – H***n Records)

Genre/Influences: IDM, Cinematic.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: Dmitry Stepnov (Diffuzion) strikes back with the third official album of his solo-project EFF DST. “Incarnate” has been released five years after the last opus.

Content: The Belarusian artist brings us a dense and elaborated IDM-work. Heavy, blasting sound treatments and transcendental sequences have been mixed with danceable, Technoid, kicks. Other passages are more evasive and driven by down tempo rhythms accentuating a Cinematic influence.

+ + + : Each time I get flabbergasted by the unique sound treatments and also by the song structures ending in Trance and then becoming Experimental. The work features numerous great songs but I’ll mention the pure IDM-resonating “Shadowplay” and “Warped Peril”, the transcendental sensation emerging from “Lunacy” but also “Curse Reborn” for the crashing percussion sounds. The sound intelligence and sonic welfare this album has been accomplished took me by surprise. This is the best production I’ve heard from this artist. The album features a succession of great songs so I can only but salute the genius of Dmitry Stepnow who without a shadow of a doubt has released his magnum opus.

- - - : I noticed a very few Experimental/Glitch elements which aren’t my favorites but there’s no true reason to complain. I regret there’s no physical format available from this masterpiece.

Conclusion: “Incarnate” revealed an artist who hasn’t reinvented himself but who has just reached the highest degree of creativity and perfection.

Best songs: “Shadowplay”, “Warped Peril”, “Lunacy”, “Curse Reborn”, “Mournful Voices”, “Rebound”, “Sci Cry”.

Rate: 9.

Artist: www.effdst.com / www.facebook.com/eff.dst

Label: www.h***n-records.com / www.facebook.com/h***nrecords

brilliantly))

EVA|3 · EFF DST - "SCANDIUM" single # Rhythmic Noise / Industrial / IDM #

Technologically advanced sound forms characterize this recent release, rightly defined as 'double side A' single. Two projects and two performances of immense musical value generate "Scandium" a masterpiece of electronic art released in 2023 by the legendary German label Ant-Zen. The two protagonists of the single are Eva|3 - aka the English Paul Lavigne - and EFF DST - aka the Belarusian Dmitry Stepnov - both expert connoisseurs of the most sophisticated sonic strategies of the latest generation.
Eva|3 - member of the Industrial / Breakbeat / Ambient duo Kaminari No Himei with Emilie Verbieze (Riotmiloo) - specializes in a multitude of conjugations of the electro concept, including the genres Industrial, Post-Industrial, Rhythmic Noise, Techno, Ambient, Dark Ambient and Minimal: the artist's entire repertoire is made up of songs with an introspective mood that probe the emotional and psychological universe: the sounds - totally intrumental - internalize Paul's desire to separate his mind and soul from the tangibility of reality, to distance oneself from self-awareness, reaching at the same time illusory horizons of 'non-existence', losing and rediscovering one's essence facing fears and emotions. Dystopian, introspective and visionarily filmic, the musics are systematically characterized by an extraordinary refinement, intelligible complexity and magnetizing suggestiveness, originated using modular and analog synthesizers manipulated with expert skill and perfect knowledge of how to shape and make sonic matter communicative. Eva|3's discography initially mentions the debut album "The Great Divide" published by the German label Fich-Art in 2007, followed in 2021 by the EP "La Théorie Du Diable", 'double side A' made with the German industrial/power-electronics project Thorofon and, like almost all subsequent releases from that year onwards, published by Ant-Zen. The list continues in 2021 with the second album "A World Within", with the single "Undone" and with the self-released single "Elements Of Escape".
EFF DST explores an electronic multi-dimension ranging stylistically to Industrial, Experimental, Ambient, IDM, and Trance. A sound engineer involved in television and radio productions, the artist conceptually inserts vivid science fiction-fantasy film elements into his music, with fascinating theories on alien intelligence and extraterrestrial life forms. The instrumental sound system developed by this talented technological adventurer, stands out for its remarkable imaginative capacity and attractive power, but also for incorporating into a single, balanced module, energetically aggressive sonorities interspersed with keyboard melodies full of atmospheric sweetness. Discographically active since 2014 with the debut self-produced album "Survey", the protagonist continued his career by publishing the self-released album "Searching For Signs Of Life" in 2016, entrusting subsequent releases to H***n Records - Sub-label of Ant- Zen - who edited the three albums "Blackout" in 2017, "Out Of Body" in 2018 and "Incarnate" in 2023.
The two different interpretations of the "Scandium" concept propose evolved, mesmerizing Industrial, Techno, IDM architectures, overflowing with post-apocalyptic restlessness, tension and evocative force, through which Eva | 3 and EFF DST drag the listener into a thousand suns distant chiaroscuro galaxy, to be flown over withe the most absolute, participatory contemplation.

Tracklist:
__________

Eva|3 - "Elements" >> The bombastic vibrations of the downtempo drumming, the bass lines and the sequencer irradiate the surrounding space, emitting obsessively hypnotic cycles, while the synths transmit caustically metallic frequencies and vaporous jets of neutronic substance, in a set of rhythmic patterns and alienating electronic alchemies with an otherworldly charm. Perceptive alterations, bewilderment and ecstasy, merge with a vortex of sonic-artificial storm. Images of red, black and gray skies clouded by post-nuclear nebulae, depressed urban landscapes, hallucinated looks and cathartic frenzy this track an unforgettable sensorial experience.

Eff Dst - "Sci Cry" >> After the introductory perturbation of distorted start-stop percussiveness and sequenced asymmetries, the drum-machine outlines mechanically cadenced rectilinear downtempo beats and with the second beat tonally 'splash', surrounded by synthetic micro-fractures, robotic scans, stereoscopic effects, acid flows of electronic dust and sub-modulations of immaterial noise: the first phase of the song wanders in dim light and torment, awaiting the liberating light coming from the melodious keyboard sections. Surrealism, futuristic drama and finally ardent sentiment, in a track in which harshness and sweetness alternate and by which you will be instantly subjugated.


Conclusions:
______________

Single release formulated with great aesthetic sense and cerebral experimentalism, harmoniously intricate and assimilable. The sound takes on consistency and life, transforming into an interactive entity of a superior kind that seduces through numerical symphonies embellished with intrinsic meanings and abstraction. Eva|3 and Eff Dst design a virtual portal in which futurism and present time, human emotions and android coldness, transversal sonic expressionism and psychological investigation intersect, splendidly combining at the same time the mathematical rationalism of machines with the sensitivity of the spirit. In "Scandium" the notes become a representation that immeasurably goes beyond the traditional concept of 'melodism', interpreting only electronic frequencies as a tool to arouse visceral suggestions in the listener. This sound actively interacts with the brain chemistry and transports into immensity: here they are, the moments of supreme perfection you have always been looking for.

https://silenceandsound.me/2023/10/27/eff-dst-2/

EFF DST EFF DST INCARNATE (H***n Records) Dmitry Stepnov aka EFF DST, est de retour avec un opus aux ambiances contagieuses, succession de compositions futuristes à la beauté industrielle chromée. INCARNAT…

EFF DST. incarnate.
digital album. h***n records ¥877

available on bandcamp:

incarnate, by eff dst 10 track album

New!

incarnate, by eff dst 10 track album

ant-zen & h***n records. new releases. september 2023

https://ant-zen.bandcamp.com
https://h***n-records.bandcamp.com

Tapage & Espoir . descended hope.
12" vinyl lp / digital album. ant-zen act440

Kadaitcha . tramontane
12" vinyl lp / digital album. ant-zen act442

Blac Kolor. weltenbrand
triple 7" vinyl / cd / digital album. ant-zen act446

Eff Dst . incarnate.
digital album. h***n records ¥877

Frank Riggio . gy
digital album. h***n records ¥894

***nrecords

https://orcd.co/scandium

Eva⎮3 · Eff Dst - Scandium Choose your preferred music service

https://soundcloud.com/logika-ritma/lr4-135

Логика Ритма - 4.135 (10jul2023)

Новый выпуск Логики Ритма, где мы широко проходимся по разноплановым новинкам электронной сцены. Конечно же подсветили новый трек от Aphex Twin (ждем EP), а также релизы таких наших любимчиков как ANZ, Hadone, Karenn (трек Happy Birthday не просто так:), Two Fingers, Infinite Scale и многих других.
Подсветим красивые песенки от Slowdive и James Blake, а также ambient-trance кавер от Courtesy на супер-хит You are not alone.
Также хотим сообщить, что уходим в отпуск и услышимся в августе. Не скучайте и слушайте хорошую музыку :)

tracklist:
Too Smooth Christ - Salad Bowl Rhythm [Nocta Numerica]
lee - To the Fjord [X4 records]
Olof Dreijer - Rosa Rugosa [Hessle Audio]
Anz - Clearly Rushing [Hessle Audio]
Gouseion - Burial At Sea [self-released]
PRZ - Synthetic Man [Clone West Coast Series]
Courtesy - You're Not Alone [Kulor]
Aphex Twin - Blackbox Life Recorder 21f [WARP]
Tammo Hesselink - Eraser [Nous'klaer Audio]
RTR - Sub-0 [Weme]
Eff Dst - Sci Cry [ant-zen]
Fluctuosa - Fisheel [Analogical Forse]
James Blake - Big Hammer [UMG]
Cromby - Casual Carnage [potency]
The Exaltics - Higher Levels [Clone West Coast Series]
An Avrin - BONK [Anav]
Hadone - Mount Forest [RAW]
Karenn - Happy Birthday [Voam]
Lake Haze - Binary Blossoms [Atlantic Thunder]
Laksa - Soulz [Re:lax]
DJ Paypal - You Got Me [LuckyMe]
Two Fingers vs Muadeep - Blood Moon [Nomark]
Infinite Scale - how unfortunate [self-released]
Froses - Bboo track [Smoke Screen Records]
Slowdive - kisses [Dead Oceans]

download - https://logikaritma.salfetky.com/logika-ritma-4135.mp3

Ну и поддержать нас можно по цене чашки кофе по ссылкам ниже

Boosty boosty.to/logikaritma
Patreon patreon.com/user?u=82330450
Mixcloud Select www.mixcloud.com/logikaritma/

Eva|3 · Eff Dst . scandium.
square 7" lathe cut vinyl / digital single. ant-zen act443

available on bandcamp:
https://ant-zen.bandcamp.com/album/scandium

tracklist:
01. eva|3 - elements
02. eff dst - sci cry

square 7" lathe cut clear vinyl. cover: exclusive print on acrylic glass - each piece has a unique design. including digital download-code. limited to 40 copies. layout by stefan alt. release date: 09.06.2023

SCANDIUM is a classic double a-side single of the artists EVA|3 and EFF DST, offering their slant on mesmerising electro and post-apocalyptic noise motifs. masterfully produced in a modern industrial format

EVA|3 - elements: industrial music and dystopian techno. hypnotic and rich textures of massive analog-synths. EVA|3 is a solo-project driven by sound designer and engineer paul lavigne, who's operating his own mastering and mixing studio in london.

EFF DST - sci cry: seamlessly blending idm's complexity and floating synth melodies with harsh & gritty beat-driven techno in an atmospheric cinematic mix. EFF DST is an electronic music project led by the sound engineer, programmer and performer dmitry stepnov.

websites. eva|3
https://www.eva3.co.uk
https://eva3.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/eva3official
https://www.discogs.com/artist/259666-eva3

websites. eff dst
http://www.effdst.com
https://effdst.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/eff.dst
https://www.discogs.com/artist/978096-EFF-DST

Hello friends! Today is a day of celebration for me, as my new track has been released on vinyl via the esteemed German label Ant-Zen. Alongside my track, you'll also find a fantastic offering from the talented EVA|3. It's an absolute honor to be a part of this record and I can't wait for you all to hear it. Huge thanks to Ant-Zen for this incredible opportunity, and to all of you for being there every step of the way 🙏🎶

scandium, by eva|3 · eff dst 2 track album

ant-zen. new releases. june 2023

https://ant-zen.bandcamp.com

TANZ OHNE MUSIK.
17. 7" vinyl ep / digital ep. ant-zen act455

GENEVIÉVE PASQUIER.
indecent behaviour. square 7" lathe cut vinyl / digital single. ant-zen act461

EVA|3 · EFF DST.
scandium. square 7" lathe cut vinyl / digital single. ant-zen act443

GWENN TREMORIN and ANATOLY GRINBERG.
fire pulsations. digital ep. ant-zen dig083



Tanz Ohne Musik // Geneviéve Pasquier // Eva|3 // Eff Dst // Gwenn Tremorin // Anatoly Tokee Grinberg

EVA|3 · EFF DST. scandium.
square 7" lathe cut vinyl / digital single. ant-zen act443

available on bandcamp:
https://ant-zen.bandcamp.com/album/scandium

tracklist:
01. eva|3 - elements
02. eff dst - sci cry

square 7" lathe cut clear vinyl.
cover: exclusive print on acrylic glass - each piece has a unique design. including digital download-code.

limited to 40 copies.
layout by stefan alt.
release date: 09.06.2023

SCANDIUM is a classic double a-side single of the artists EVA|3 and EFF DST, offering their slant on mesmerising electro and post-apocalyptic noise motifs. masterfully produced in a modern industrial format EVA|3 - elements: industrial music and dystopian techno. hypnotic and rich textures of massive analog-synths.
EVA|3 is a solo-project driven by sound designer and engineer Paul Lavigne, who's operating his own mastering and mixing studio in london.

EFF DST - sci cry: seamlessly blending idm's complexity and floating synth melodies with harsh & gritty beat-driven techno in an atmospheric cinematic mix. EFF DST is an electronic music project led by the sound engineer, programmer and performer dmitry stepnov.

websites. eva|3
https://www.eva3.co.uk
https://eva3.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/eva3official
https://www.discogs.com/artist/259666-eva3

websites. eff dst
http://www.effdst.com
https://effdst.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/eff.dst
https://www.discogs.com/artist/978096-EFF-DST

ant-zen. audio & visual arts
www.ant-zen.com · www.facebook.com/antzen.official · www.ant-zen.banwww.ant-zen.bandcamp.com