- Strange Therapy is a new cassette label based in Amsterdam. Judging by the first release, an eight-track compilation of dark and heady cuts from the burgeoning techno-noise-industrial scene, it's one to keep tabs on. The artists contribute from all over Europe. Some are established names like Violet Poison, who recently dropped gnarly EBM EPs on labels like Candela Rising and Smashing Tape. His "Human Asteroid" is in the same vein. Other artists are more obscure, their releases fewer in number or hard to find.
The highlights include Unhuman's horror-themed "Wormhole" and its terror synth stabs, screams and choking sounds. The haunted industrial techno of "Transformation," by Serbian artist Katran, is another. Verset Zero has a gothic techno thing about him that makes his records similarly interesting, and his "Căro" is like a grinding blend of post-rock and techno. The most striking (and monstrous) sound design comes from Shrouds—there's something beastly about the snarls behind the groggy trudge of "He Raised His Voice, The Earth Melted." The static sound wall of Sortsyn's "Worryor" comes a close second.
Tracklist01. Operant - Cheekbone Element
02. Restive Plaggona - Fire Is The Only Way
03. Unhuman - Wormhole
04. Violet Poison - Human Asteroid
05. Katran - Transformation
06. Verset Zero - Căro
07. Shrouds - He Raised His Voice, The Earth Melted
08. Sortsyn - Worryor