Fïx8:Sëd8 - Foren6

Fïx8:Sëd8 may just be one of the best kept secrets in the dark electro world as the solo project from Martin Sane has remained under the radar since his induction in 2005. It is pretty silly to think about considering Fïx8:Sëd8 had his first album Humanophobia produced by the legendary Haujobb with final touches done by Husseyin Koroglu of Phunkmob and Steve Dragon of In Strict Confidence. That being said Humanophobia and 2009's Dormicum were both self-released so perhaps his work was widely disregarded without the backing of a label or word-of-mouth support from the scene itself. However all this has changed in the recent months as Fïx8:Sëd8 has been signed to Dependent Records and with their blessing is currently infesting the ears of rivetheads the world over - myself included. 

Fïx8:Sëd8 has been hard at work on his latest album Foren6 since 2011; seven years of self-defining production and sampling has brought out what is widely considered the best album of his career. It is easy to see that legendary North American electro-industrial bands such as Skinny Puppy, Velvet Acid Christ, and Front Line Assembly have played a role in Fïx8:Sëd8's music history. His music is flooded with the sound of 90s production without ever seeming like a clone or copy to any of the aforementioned bands. I immediately got that sensation within two minutes of the first song on Foren6 'My Mistress'; those strained electro vocals and moody synths easily captured the pure essense of early electro-industrial. 

An impressive feat that Fïx8:Sëd8 managed to overcome was having almost all their tracks on Foren6 last an average of five minutes or longer without ever growing dull. Whether it was the rougher beats on 'Permanent Memory Loss' or the danceable electro bits on 'Puritan' I could not fathom a moment on this album that made me want to skip one track or another. I was also easily looking at an hour of listening, and in an age where I am lucky to get more than half hour of music on an album Fïx8:Sëd8 has rose above as a champion. 

If for whatever reason Fïx8:Sëd8 managed to escape your attention - like he did mine for all these years - then now would be the perfect time to discover Martin Sane for the first time. His attention to detail is near perfect and he is not just another band that lists early electro-industrial as an influence. This is a mechanized beast who enraptures the cold, old-school electronic heart and gets the cyber blood pumping with an adrenaline shot of pure chaos. 
May 23 2017