Gold (Au)

Artist Unknown - Demons & Girls

No, that doesn't mean that I don't know who made the song I'm posting today. That is their band-name. Artist Unknown is two guys from Germany who have been making sick techno-electro music for a number of years, all the while keeping their real identities a secret. Well, OK, not all that secret - they also release music as Märtini Brös - but when they perform as AU, they never show their faces, they have an art-y manifesto, and tend to be all cloak-and-dagger secretive.

Anyway, as AU, they have been keeping a low profile for a few years now - their last available output being 2002's Errorist EP, released by Munich's Disko-B, but they've been busy working under their various other aliases. However, they've just now released new album, titled Present, on the revered Datapunk, the label managed by electro legend, Anthony Rother.

The record covers some interesting ground - from the typical-of-Disko-B EBM post-industrial vocal-heavy songs like "The Happy Days", to electro-influenced techno-pop ("Aciklik" or "Missing"), to straight up Detroit-style head-melting electro like "Black Zeppelin" - I appreciate their breadth of style, as well as the fact that they are able to make so many kinds of music, not just as AU, but allowing for other styles using their different production aliases.

Present comes out tomorrow, and you'll be able to order it from our friends at Forced Exposure (US) or Boomkat (UK). You should also hit up their Myspace page for more info and to hear a couple more songs. Recommended.