We Have a Technical

We Have a Technical 398: Goats From the Universe

It’s EBM Day and everyone’s celebrating. Well, at least we are. The not so terminal state of EBM is the subject of the day, as we move through our initial conceptions of and experiences with the genre towards an overview of recent developments and sub-genres ranging from Los Angeles to Berlin to Bogotá.

We Have A Commentary: iVardensphere, "Ragemaker"

This month's commentary podcast is one of the rare ones in which we invite an artist to walk through their new record, track by track. It's a great time to catch up with long-time friend of the site Scott Fox of iVardensphere, as his new LP Ragemaker isn't just the first new work from the long-running rhythmic industrial act in a number of years, but also signals several shifts in how iVardensphere operates as a project and what its aims are. We had a great conversation with Scott about the ...

We Have a Technical 397: Dad Rock Rap

We don’t necessarily intend for our two albums format episodes to end up mapping the reach of genres we discuss on We Have A Technical, but they often end up that way. This week is no exception as we take up a new(ish) stay the course record from Die Form in their dark and slinky industrial/minimal synth style, and the post-goth grandeur and honesty of Weep. We’re also running through the just-announced lineup of Seattle’s Mechanismus festival.

We Have A Technical 296: Astro Boy Didn't Lie

After a far too long absence, it's the return of our popular Pick Five format! Slower club tunes are the subject of the day, with Alex and Bruce each selecting five lower-BPM tracks they like to play out to cool the floor out while still keeping it packed. We're also talking about the recently announced NIN tour dates, and the wave of hype pertaining to their gig with Ministry and Nitzer Ebb.

We Have a Technical 395: Change the Temperature

We Have A Commentary: In The Nursery, "L'Esprit"

This month's We Have A Commentary podcast features the Senior Staff's discussion of In The Nursery's landmark 1990 LP L'Esprit. Questions of acoustic versus synthesized symphonics, military metaphysics, and the virtues of bombast are all taken up in an episode which features a bit more disagreement than your average WHaC. 

WE HAVE A TECHNICAL 394: COMICS WITH?

Both Boy Harsher’s new film The Runner and its accompanying soundtrack have been released, offering us the chance to talk about how both works draw upon and move beyond the group’s aesthetic and thematics. We’re also talking about an uptick in italo-related releases, as well as the winding down of the Dub Ditch Picnic label.

We Have A Technical 393: Thank You Mike Wells

In the wake of the passing of Mike Wells, we're discussing his legacy both as one half of the legendary Gridlock and as a mastering engineer. We're thankful to Alex Reed, Daniel Graves, David Dutton, Sharon Kyronfive, and Eric Oehler for sharing their thoughts and memories of Mike and Gridlock. We're also getting caught up to speed on the latest festival news in North America.

We Have A Technical 392: Reconsider that Nickname

Inspired by last week's discussion of legacy acts, we have a very specific iteration of our two albums format for this week's episode of We Have A Technical. It's a 'masters of dark electro' themed ep, with discussion of the abrupt reunion and return to form from The Klinik's classic line-up on Eat Your Heart Out, and Claus Larsen's return to deep exploration of the notion of symphonic dark electro on Serenade For The Dead II. What new terrain and ideas were these progenitors able to strike ...

We Have a Technical 391: 2022 is Ruined

The role of legacy acts (and their definition) in the broader industrial and goth diasporas is the subject of our first podcast of the year. How are festivals and club nights shaped by them, and how does the particular nature of Our Thing foster them? 

We Have a Technical 390: Off Topic 2021

We Have a Technical 389: A Funny Stinger

We Have a Commentary: Seabound, "No Sleep Demon"

We Have a Technical 388: Best of 2021 Round Up

We're tying up some Year End odds and sods on this week's podcast, with a quick rundown of our Top 25, and then some discussion of a whopping twenty releases we're putting forth as honourable mentions. Finally, what are the larger trends which marked the year that was? How many self-released records made our list? What can we make of the artists appearing on the list for the first time? And most importantly, what the hell was up with all the italo disco?

We Have A Technical 387: Abby Content

It's a bit of an odd catch-up episode of the podcast this week, friends, as we're discussing three recent albums released too late to be given regular review coverage. Records by Deine Lakaien, The Necromancers Union, and HAEX are taking us through darkwave, goth rock, and industrial territory respectively. All that plus the skinny on the just announced 2022 iteration of Vancouver's own Verboden Festival on the latest episode of We Have A Technical.

We Have A Technical 386: Nylon Tracksuits

We're talking records by Mesh and Mlada Fronta on this week's podcast, as synthpop/alt rock and rhythmic noise/IDM combos are considered. Also, talk about the first major concert the Senior Staff have been able to attend since everything went down!

We Have a Commentary: Throbbing Gristle, 20 Jazz Funk Greats

As selected by our Patreon backers, an album which needs no introduction whatsoever is the subject of this month's We Have A Commentary podcast. We're discussing 20 Jazz Funk Greats' recurring theme of manipulation, the ways in which it presaged the various post-TG projects each member of the band would pursue, and its eternal position at a strange intersection of pop, noise, experimentalism, and emerging dance styles.

We Have A Technical 385: Uncouth Beast

We're talking about the changing roles served by vocals in industrial and post-industrial music in this week's episode of the podcast. Whether tilting towards pop conventions or serving to explode the control machines, how has the human voice been deployed in music ranging from Throbbing Gristle to futurepop? Lock your eyes on your navels and prepare for a deep dive with the Senior Staff.

We Have A Technical 384: Welcome To Health

Was 1998 a peak year for darkwave? You decide after listening to this episode of We Have A Technical, which discusses the broad-reaching electro-acoustic laments of Deathwatch Beetle Repairman's Hollow Fishes and the foray into chill breaks which was Love Spirals Downwards' Flux. All that plus a run-down of the lineup for the upcoming Terminus: Fragment fest in Calgary!

We Have a Technical 383: Ziggy Says

From an uncertain electroclash hangover to an experiment in pure drone, this week's two albums formatted episode covers a lot of ground. First up it's a discussion of Mount Sims' 2004 Wild Light LP, and then a dive into 2, the 1996 LP by Justin Broadrick's solo project Final. We also touch upon a recent interview with Steve Albini in which the infamous engineer and songwriter reckons with his own 'shitty edgelord' past, and some hopeful intimations from the folks behind Terminus Festival.

We Have a Technical 382: You Swerved Me

We Have A Commentary: Boy Harsher, "Country Girl"

This month's commentary podcast conveniently coincides with news of a new Boy Harsher LP and tour as we discuss the duo's 2017 EP, Country Girl. Though short in run-time, the EP's sound and mood served as a flashpoint for the explosion of interest in Boy Harsher's approach to classic darkwave and electronic sounds, catapulting them to their current position as one of the most preeminent and influential dark electronic bands of the moment.

We Have a Technical 381: Ain't Listening

This week we are picking five "easy records". What does that mean? Who knows, listen and find out! 

We Have A Technical #380: Why Choose

It's a down the pipe two albums episode of the podcast this week, with Bruce picking a record by semi-notable German goth rock band and Alex picking a record by a distinctly obscure German industrial act. The blatant Sisters-isms of The Merry Thoughts and the Eurodance/prog EBM of Fortification 55 are discussed, with more than a few charms being ferreted out from each.

We Have A Technical 379: Sanctioned Yelling

The thematic complexity, musical variety, and labyrinthine discography of Current 93 is the subject of this week's We Have A Technical. David Tibet's work has had a profound impact on both of us and the genres we cover here at I Die: You Die, and so without intending to be at all authoritative or all-encompassing, we wanted to have a conversation which would take up a host of questions and issues extending out of one of the most singular bodies of experimental music from the past century. Bu...

We Have A Technical 378: 10 Hours of Sleep

Our two album discussion episodes don't get much more down the pipe than this! Two fun and funky EBM records of different stripes are on the docket. First, we're catching up with Randolph & Mortimer via Manifesto For A Modern World, a compilation of their acid, grebo, and Wax Trax indebted instrumental EBM bangers. Next, we're looking over the second record from musically Belgian but geographically Dutch duo The Force Dimension, Deus Ex Machina, which adds a quirky mix of new age, synthpop, ...

We Have A Technical 377: Xoxchitla

On the cusp of the release of their sophomore record Acts Of Worship, we're joined on the podcast this week by Jason Corbett and Shannon Hemmett of Actors. There's lots on the table as we discuss the refinement and expansion of the band's weighty post-punk sound, emotional reckonings, and the pragmatic side of planning shows during the pandemic. We also talk about Cold Waves FOMO and the latest drama emerging from Ministry's Industrial Strength tour.

We Have A Technical 376: Two Slabs Of Meat

It's a Pick Five episode of the podcast this week, with each of us talking about some samples which stuck with us for better or worse. It's somewhat bitterly ironic that that's our subject, as the passing of sample and industrial pioneer Richard H. Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire is something which we're also discussing with Susan Subtract of Physical Wash and High-Functioning Flesh.

We Have a Commentary: Choke Chain, "Invoking Shadows"

Mark Trueman of Choke Chain joins Alex and Bruce to discuss his new release Invoking Shadows, his history with EBM and industrial and how this release is distinct from its predecessors. 

We Have A Technical 375: The Arbiters of Industrial

For too long we have been delinquent in our duties as supreme judges of the nature of industrial music and culture. For too long we have hidden behind mealy-mouthed equivocation out of a desire to keep the peace. No more. On this episode of We Have A Technical we at last embrace our destinies as the Arbiters of Industrial and pass judgement on the rivetness of all things great and small. Should you deign to dispute our rulings you may do so on social media or in the comments below, but remem...

We Have A Technical 374: John Senile

A classic two albums episode has us kicking between darkwave and industrial metal. Diva Destruction's debut Passion's Price, with its synth strings and high-goth aesthetic, is considered alongside Unit 187's Loaded, balancing programming and Vancouver metal. Some recent tour cancellations and postponements, plus the dissolution of Iris are also discussed.

We Have A Technical 373: Furnas and LaFon

After four weeks of our New Canon series, the regular We Have A Technical podcast is back! This week we're discussing Sinner Get Ready, the new album from Lingua Ignota. Its rural mood and shift towards acoustic/folk instrumentation while maintaining the harrowing tones and themes for which Kristen Hayter's work has gained acclaim are just some of the topics we're discussing. Also, we try to catch up with a full month's worth of news bites.

The New Canon: Darkwave

The New Canon: Industrial

The New Canon: Goth

The New Canon: EBM

We Have A Commentary: Moev, "Yeah Whatever"

This month's We Have A Commentary takes up the third LP from Vancouver's chameleonic Moev. Yeah Whatever brought together elements of synthpop, post-punk, funk, nascent alt-rock, goth, and body music, all under the aegis of then-new vocalist Dean Russell's exploration of deeply spiritual and personal issues. The Senior Staff discuss it in relation to Moev's broader history (as well as that of Nettwerk Records)

We Have A Technical 372: Sex Lives Of The Thundercats

On the last episode of We Have A Technical before our special podcast series The New Canon takes over the month of August, we're talking about the classic mid-90s fusion of industrial programming and guitar of Steril's Egoism and the timeless and intimate sound design of Octavius' Laws. Some Ashbury Heights and Front 242 chat rounds out this week's episode.

We Have A Technical 371: More Obnoxious

The sometimes strained and sometimes incredibly powerful crossover between industrial and hip-hop is the subject of this week's We Have A Technical. From both genres' shared roots in sampling to thorny questions of MCing to current forms of hip-hop which create noise ex nihilo, we're aiming for a relatively subjective discussion of this unique intersection rather than an authoritative history thereof. We're also touching upon a recent article detailing connections between noise/power electro...

We Have A Technical 370: Heat With Kevin Thorn

The return of the listener-favourite Pick Five format has us considering records we like to listen to whilst traveling on airplanes. Being stuck in a tightly compacted space hurtling through the sky for lengthy periods of time can be stressful, monotonous, and wonderful, and from IDM to shoegaze, choosing the right soundtrack can lessen anxiety and offer much-needed focus.

We Have A Technical 369: A Cheaper Kind Of Sauce

After a few weeks of holidays, medical leave, and 10th anniversary celebrations we're back to our usual schedule here at the site, including a classic two albums format episode of the podcast. This week we're discussing the 1994 crossover success of Delerium's Semantic Spaces, wherein an ambient/industrial side-project primed itself to become a mainstream phenomenon hybridizing trance, trip-hop, and "world" music, and the final missive from Ipswich experimentalists Nagamatzu, whose 1991 reco...

We Have A Technical 368: FOREVER! FOREVER!

I Die: You Die turns 10 years old this year, so naturally this week's podcast is of a reflective tack. We're looking back at the very first writing posted to the site, and talking about how the site's changed and how it's changed up. Self-indulgent? Maybe, but the site's entering its cantankerous pre-teen years now - let the baby have his bottle.

We Have A Commentary: London After Midnight, "Psycho Magnet"

This month's We Have A Commentary episode, made possible as always by the generous financial support of our Patreon backers, has us taking up the sophomore record from London After Midnight. An inescapable presence in goth nightclubs, headphones, and bedrooms in the late 1990s, Psycho Magnet gathered elements of darkwave and deathrock around the striking figure and vocals of frontman Sean Brennan.

We Have A Technical 367: I Want A New Meme

A most contentious of crossover genres is the subject of this week's podcast, dear listener. Yep, Alex and Bruce are tackling the neon-veined beast that is synthwave, and try to wrestle with its revisionism, aesthetic markers, audience, outliers, and possibilities. We're also talking about the line-up of industrial legends scheduled to take the stage at France's Hellfest next year.

We Have a Technical 366: He Does That

From the sugariest of highs to the most oppressive of lows, it's tough to imagine records with vibes as different than the pair up for discussion on this week's podcast. The mature synthpop of Beborn Beton's 2015 comeback A Worthy Compensation is considered alongside the abject miserablism of darkwave duo Forever Grey's Alabaster Chamber. All that plus some griping about guest lists on the latest episode of We Have A Technical.

We Have a Technical 365: Pod Costas

After almost a full month away from it, we're back to the classic two albums format in this week's episode of We Have A Technical. Voices, the 1998 LP from Lights Of Euphoria, is discussed as a sampling of the styles in European electro of the day, while //TENSE//'s 2011 swan song Escape is revisited as a precursor to the entire next decade of North American EBM. We're also checking in on the rescheduled Cruel World festival set for LA next May.

We Have a Technical 364: UK Music Twilight Zone

The new record from the website and podcast’s namesake is up for discussion on this week’s podcast. Yep, Uncle Gary’s new record Intruder looks to be following in the footsteps of its predecessor in terms of chart success, and we’re talking not just about the ins and outs of the new record and its place within the Numan catalog, but also the long-term shape and legacy of Numan’s longstanding partnership with producer Ade Fenton. All that plus some news bites on the latest episode of We Have ...

We Have A Commentary: Aesthetic Perfection, "A Violent Emotion"

This month's Patreon-supported bonus commentary podcast finds us heading back to the still-oontz driven days of the industrial club scene circa 2008 with Aesthetic Perfection's breakthrough LP A Violent Emotion. We're interested in reconsidering and discussing the record in light of both the era which produced it and also the ways in which AP's Daniel Graves has steered the project away from traditional club industrial sounds towards mainstream pop. Can the seeds of Graves' debts to Katy Per...

We Have a Technical 363: Nice at Bomberman

In this week's episode, Jeff Cancade - AKA Devours - joins the Senior Staff in East Van's bucolic Robson Park to talk about his fantastic new genre-hopping LP Escape From Planet Devours. It's a conversation which touches on DIY releases, depression, the allure of nostalgia, making it as a synth-punk act in Vancouver, and which we hope communicates something of what makes the new record so enjoyable.

We Have A Technical 362: Take A Pils

Our popular Pick Five format has us choosing a selection of Down To Mope records. What the hell does that mean? Well, you'll just have to listen to this week's episode to learn about the particular flavour of melancholy we're interested in exploring. We've also got a breakdown of the just-announced line-up for the ninth edition of the Cold Waves fest coming to Chicago this September on the latest installment of We Have A Technical.