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Pain Magazine is the new project combining two acts celebrated in their respective fields.
From the world of post-hardcore comes French trio Birds in Row, internationally known for their ferocious, emotionally charged performances and scathing lyrics, fearlessly speaking truth to power. Veterans of the scene, the band has built a strong following since their formation in 2009, touring extensively andgracing stages of impressive festivals like Dour festival, Roadburn and ArcTanGent while maintaining true to their DIY ethics and community-minded practices.
Hailing from the industrial techno scene, Franco-American techno duo Maelstrom and Louisahhh have been close collaborators since 2013, releasing their debut album in 2023 on their own label, RAAR,‘making techno for punks’. Built upon a fierce belief in evolving processes of creation and the trust and courage that requires, the creative partners have carved a unique, powerful niche in the world of electronic music, globally touring in many forms: as an electronic hybrid act, as celebrated DJs, as solo performers and as a live band. Whatever the form, the musical and lyrical focus of comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable remains steadfast.
The collision of these two worlds happened by near-accident, a ‘let’s see what happens’ studio session in the dead of winter, and evolved from a single track into an entire album written over the course of sixteen days. The first song produced has thus become the first single, and the title track of the album ‘Violent God’. Perhaps the song in which separate parties’ influences are most evident, Violent God combines the heavy, raucous instrumentals of Birds in Row with the focused, machine-driven sensibilities for which Maelstrom is known and Louisahhh’s unhinged roaring. Lyrically teetering in on a brink between victim and villain, the track explores a fertile void in between belief, worship and blame. ‘Do I believe in a violent god? You make me believe,’ howls Louisahhh over the storm of guitars and electronics in an interrogation and declaration both personal and political. All of the artists implicated in this impressive new project have a history of and dedication to values of authenticity, integrity and bravely honing light from darkness with sound and words. With Violent God, two worlds collide and become something else, a beast with sharper teeth and bloodier claws, more guts, more poetry. This is just the beginning