Below is the list of our top 10 collaborations from this year from some of the best acts in the scene….

10. Dreamreaper & MAGNAVOLT – BLOODRAVE

9. Earmake & Stilz – Artifact Hunt

8. ALEX & Mono Memory – SOCIAL MEDIOCRITY

7. Futurecop! – Home (feat. Parallels)

6. Fury Weekend & Ollie Wride – Soul Survivor

5. All the Damn Vampires – I Can’t Go (feat. Mint Simon & Sunglasses Kid)

4. DRYVE – 80s Song (feat. Cassiopeia)

3. Josh Dally & Timecop1983 – Take Me Back

2. PYLOT – Invisible (feat. Ezra Hyte)

1. Miami Nights 1984 – Only When It’s Dark (feat. Gunship)

Previous FISHSCALES:
Fishscale Prt. 1 – https://newretrowave.com/2018/11/20/fishscale-a-retro-flash-of-fiction-part-1/

Fishscale Prt. 2 – https://newretrowave.com/2021/08/30/fish-scale-part-2-a-nostalgic-flash-fiction/

Rammellzee (stylized RAMM:ΣLL:ZΣΣ, pronounced “Ram: Ell: Zee”; December 15, 1960 – June 28, 2010) was a visual artist, gothic futurist “graffiti writer”, painter, performance artist, art theoretician, sculptor and a hip hop musician from New York City, who has been cited as “instrumental in introducing elements of the avant-garde into hip-hop culture”. Since 2021, Rammellzee’s work is exclusively represented by Jeffrey Deitch.

Many of think of MF DOOM as the first man to don a mask and make an impact in HipHop but, that isn’t the case. Doom may have been the illest ‘Supervillain‘, and one of the greatest HipHop artists of all time, he wasn’t the first. That title may rest on the crown of Rammellzee.

As much of an iconoclast as he was a contributor to the culture of HipHop, Rammellzee started as a graffiti writer in the late 1970’s writing on the A trains but, became associated with the wild style writers of the East Village; using near illegible lettering, inspired by the gothic script of Medieval manuscripts. Running around NYC with the likes of Jean Michel Basquiat, Lee Quiñones, DONDI, OU3, doctor REVOLT, INK 76,  and others. He was a contributing factor in making what’s considered the most valuable (collectible) HipHop album of all time – “Beat Bop” with K-Rob and a cover by Basquiat. Beat Bop was featured in the graffiti documentary STYLE WARS. He would eventually record more albums and collaborate with Bill Laswell and William S. Burroughs.

He has stated that his name is derived from RAM plus M for Magnitude, Sigma (Σ) the first summation operator, first L – longitude, second L – latitude, Z – z-bar, Σ, Σ – summation.

• www.peoplepill.com/people/rammellzee

His signature style was Gothic Futurism. Gothic Futurism was his own brand and the embodiment of his art. Gothic Futurism summarized as the conflict between the symbolism of letters against the structures of the alphabet and mundane conceptions of language. He would perform wearing self-made masks either as himself or other characters representing the mathematical equation that is his name. When his graffiti style became more mainstream, he morphed the language by making the letter more mechanized, cybernetic, militarized with a new style he called , “Iconoclastic Panzer”. He unlike Churchill had visually weaponized the English language. Letter Racers was another version of “Iconoclast Panzer” where each letter was locked in a galactic battle against one another.

Rammellzee’s description of the Letter Racers is as follows:

“Humans…in the 14th Century the monks ornamented and illustrated the manuscripts of letters. In the 21st and 22nd century the letters of the alphabet through competition are now armamented for letter racing and galactic battles. This was made possible by a secret equation known as THE RAMM:ELL:ZEE.”

Rammellzee is celebrated in Big Audio Dynamite’s song, ‘Come On Every Beat Box’. In 2010 Buckethead released a tribute song called, ‘Rammellzee: Hero of the Abyss’. March 2021, DJ MUGGS (Cypress Hill) and Queens rapper FLEE LORD named their collaboration album after Rammellzee; who is a major influence on the album and features clips and footage of him in their long music video for the record on Muggs Soul Assassins youtube page.

Rammellzee has shown in galleries throughout New York City and Europe. His work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. His live/work loft studio space on 46 Laight Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood, which he shared with his wife Carmela, was named Battlestation. It was a frequented by artists and art enthusiasts looking to absorb the energy of his costumes and artwork.  After 9/11, the building was sold in order to build luxury condos and this forced Rammellzzee and Carmela to move to a smaller place in Battery Park City, and relocate his 20 years worth of artwork into a storage unit. Some of this stored work was included in the 2011 art exhibition, Art in the Streets at Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. In May 2018, Red Bull Arts New York opened its exhibition RAMMΣLLZΣΣ: Racing for Thunder, billed in its press release as “the largest survey to date of one of the most influential yet overlooked artists of the 20th century.”

Rammellzee was married to Carmela Zagari Rammellzee. He died in New York City on June 28, 2010, at the age of 49, having suffered from the exposure to glue, paint fumes, resin and other toxins through his work and from liver problems. The official cause of death was listed as heart disease

Nevermann’s ‘Moonlight Kiss’ is out now on Bandcamp.

Battlejuice & LeBrock’s ‘Made of Steel’ is out now via Bandcamp.

Cobra Wipeout ‘Venom Denim’ is out now on Bandcamp and Spotify.

Favorite Tracks: Maelstrom, Voyager, Stranded Vision

Dameron ‘Stranded Vision’ is out now via Bandcamp and Spotify

First off, can you explain how the concept behind Cryostasis came to you?   

The whole idea came after my father passed away last February. At that time, I started to think a lot about the mental process of dying and what actually happens to our consciousness. After asking myself the classic questions (“What do we feel? Where do we go?”), I started to develop the concept of cryosleeping as an analogy of death in the form of a long and pleasant dream that leads to our final destination. In essence, Cryostasis is a personal homage to my father and a metaphor about death.

It explores how our brains, instead of shutting down, start a frantic and beautiful journey through an interstellar endless dream. In this sense, I decided to create an album with only one song that goes through different sections and moods to illustrate the different stages of this dream.

From a compositional standpoint, how did you approach writing an album centred around dreams and frozen time?

This was a challenging yet rewarding experience because I had to change a lot of my creative process and the usual tools I use to achieve what I had in mind. First, I decided to keep drums at minimum. Also, I wanted it to be more melodic than my previous albums, and I worked more than ever in chord progressions and sound design to create that dreamy atmosphere. All was unexplored territory for me, but I think it translated into an album that sounds like nothing I have done before.

What’s your relationship with the world of dreams and astral projection?

I dream a lot. It’s one of my favourite things in life. I would be dreaming the whole day if I could, really!

Actually, in my teens, I went to high school in the afternoon. It sucked, but at least I could sleep a bit more in the morning. One of these days, I was dreaming that I was in a closed room full of smoke. I could barely breathe, and there was a strange and loud noise, like that of a waterfall. I suddenly woke up and there was actually a lot of smoke in my room. Also, the sound of the waterfall was still there in real life. I followed the smoke and the sound and discovered that the boiler had fallen down and was on fire. The sound was actually the water from the broken pipe hitting a window. It was crazy how that dream warned me that something strange was going on. I guess I can say that dreams have literally saved my life.

Are you a lucid dreamer?

I might say I am a lucid dreamer, but that would not be very accurate. Some years ago, I started to take control of my dreams, but only when they become annoying. So, I dream like everyone else, not knowing that I am dreaming at all, but when bad stuff starts to happen, I suddenly realize that I am dreaming. So, only when a dream starts to become a nightmare, I become a lucid dreamer and take control most of the time.

Are there any plans to release any music videos for this album?

Yes! On November 26 I will also release a visualizer with the whole album on my YouTube channel.

Describe the best context (listening conditions) to listen to Cryostasis.

The best way to enjoy Cryostasis is by putting your headphones on, laying down, pressing the play button and closing your eyes.

Finishing off with the question I end every interview with: name one of your favourite albums, movies and books.

Favourite albums: Blade Runner OST by Vangelis, Radiohead – OK Computer and Opeth – Damnation.

Movies: Blade Runner, American Beauty and Schindler’s List.

Books: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Demian and Foundation Saga

Thank you very much for the interview. See you in the stars!

Thank you to AT for taking the time to answer our questions!

 Don’t forget to check out ‘Cryostasis’ on Bandcamp and Spotify.

Engineered by Astral Tales, Cryostasis™ offers a unique experience beyond time, beyond the confines of our limited lifespan in a world of endless possibilities. Our cryochambers offer the highest level of comfort modern cryonics has to offer, guaranteeing the blissful rest of a lifetime.

Our oneiric support staff is on standby 24/7 in case of subconscious turbulences in order to make sure your deep dive into the dream world remains as relaxing and pleasant as possible.

Get ready to float through immaculate landscapes of pure light, into the astral spheres, witness the heavenly interstellar lullabies, waltz around the effervescent rays of Polaris and meet your soul’s ultimate fulfilment at Horizon’s End.

Take a step back, step out and let Astral Tales show you what life beyond life has to offer.

Cryostasis by Astral Tales

Sweet Dreams and enjoy the journey, whatever your destination may be.

Astral Tales’ ‘Cryostasis’ is available now on Bandcamp and Spotify.

Favorite track: Wireframe

Jasper De Ceuster ‘Origins’ is out now via Bandcamp, Spotify, Soundcloud and Youtube.

From the Chiptune introduction on ‘Arcade Daze’ all the way down to the epic credit roll theme that is ‘Take my Hand’, the record delivers some powerful, catchy tracks whilst an immersive ambience for the album’s narrative to unfold.

With its electric neon grids and Cyberpunk soundscapes, Fall Into You makes its case as a truly heartfelt homage to the sense of wonder that permeated arcade culture.

Recommended Tracks: Fall Into You, Arrival, Take My Hand

Fall Into You is available for streaming on Bandcamp via Lazerdiscs Records and on Spotify.

IKARI​-​蒸気波LP III by 空手王

With IKARI​​-​​蒸気波LP III, producer Daniel Danielson signs off with a worthy finale to an ambitious project that will no doubt be spinning through the endless, sleepless nights of neurotic anime fans and doomers longing for funky grooves with an unsettling, bitter aftertaste.

(Fainting Heart off of  IKARI​​-​​蒸気波LP II)

As with the previous instalments in the series, IKARI​​-​​蒸気波LP III is also available on Aqua Blue color vinyl.

IKARI​​-​​蒸気波LP III is available now via Bandcamp.