Elesde
Tanz Mit Mir

Elesde is a German synth pop or dance project, which nods to EBM and, why not, even to Techno, without disdaining some gothic elements.

“Tanz Mit Mir” was released in 1998, a time when And One were in the height of their creative activity (if we want to call it that) before they softened their sounds and veered towards a banal and digestible dance, while several more or less historical and famous groups were releasing albums in quick succession, characterized by a massive use of electronics and danceable rhythms (see for example the good Laibach). Returning to our subject, it must be said that the 90s sound is very present in this record, especially in the bases and beats. Despite the female voice, anything but mellifluous, the sound is sharp, with electronics that are not exactly refined, in typical German style: I would have imagined this stuff blasted in an industrial warehouse, at some rave party or down there, populated by people in black dusters or colorful gadgets. The tracklist consists of only 10 tracks, many of which basically feature the same base. In short, a bit of a crap product if you're not a fan or collector of the genre. “Im klinischen Sinne” and the title track “Tanz Mit Mir” stand out slightly better compared to the rest of the almost completely uniform album. Almost uniform. In fact, within the deck, something different stands out, something alien to the context (fortunately), a real wildcard: it is “Darkness Party”. Over a melody reminiscent of a Nordic lullaby, they cheerfully talk about dead fallen angels, dancing satanists, desecrations, plague, children of Satan, inverted crosses, and whatever else one can imagine as grim, dark, and blasphemous, all framed by a surreal and, dare I say, playful atmosphere. A stroke of genius or not, who knows. The important thing is that there’s this little black pearl that has become a cult track in certain circles.

Traces of this band have been lost (and I have no intention of going crazy to find new sources), not that they are missed, but, for those three minutes of macabre and delirious sabbath, Elesde deserve a small mention on DeBaser and also an extra star.