Masses North American tour & LP release

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Trishka Cisnerosian

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Masses from Melbourne, Australia have released their debut LP and are planning a North American tour in support of their release. The LP is a cooperative release by both Mass Media Records and Lost in Fog Records in Australia. Both labels are run by women which is a huge undertaking in and of itself. Lost in Fog is ran by Tessa who also slays in Masses! So like support us!

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The album maintains the bands anxious goth post-punk style from earlier releases, this time utilizing more duel vocals from both guitarist James and synth player Nellie. MOLOCH explores both the driving anarcho sounds and politically motivated themes reminiscent of bands such as The Mob, whilst also delving into more emotive and dancey goth and post punk inspired tracks drawing from bands such as The Creatures and Lost Tribe. In my opinion if those two bands got married and had a baby it would be Masses. I’m a weirdo though, so you’ll have to listen for yourself…

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To purchase the LP go here: http://massmediarecords.bigcartel.com/product/masses-moloch-lp-pre-order

The LP is available to be purchased on it’s own or as a set with a limited edition Masses enamel pin (limited quantities available). Seriously I don’t have many of these left.. I’ll be posting Masses logo earrings soon as well!

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To purchase the enamel pin go here: http://massmediarecords.bigcartel.com/product/masses-enamel-lapel-pin

Masses will embark on a North American tour in July 2016 and end at San La Muerte fest in San Antonio, Tx. (Only Texas date)

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“Hidden” track of Moloch LP, see I told you… The Creatures meet Lost Tribe. xoxo

Sierpien “Zawsze Nasze” LP Mass Media Records 2015

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Trishka Cisnerosian

Sierpien’s LP actually came out in late December 2014, but didn’t officially release til after the new year in January 2015. I’m not sure where to really begin with Sierpien, as this band started out as a two man project with Artem being the driving force behind almost all of the music and vision for where the band is today. First off, Sierpien are from Moscow, Russia, however their name Sierpien is Polish meaning “August”. They are heavily influenced by Zimna Fala (Polish Coldwave), it’s really undeniable how incredibly transcending this album is, as this record could easily pass for a record that came out in the 1980’s. For me it’s just brilliant, it’s dark, cold, danceable, and Russian!

Sierpien “Zawsze Nasze” LP limited red vinyl.

Artem of Sierpien

<a href="http://massmediarecords.bandcamp.com/album/zawsze-nasze">Zawsze Nasze by Sierpien</a>

The LP was limited to a US pressing of 300 on Mass Media Records, and has also been pressed in Europe on cassette and CD format. This record would go on and be touted by Maximum Rock n Roll as a contender for “Record of the Year” and top tens in MRR as well as having an interview published in said zine. Sierpien would begin to play as a full lineup and tour in Europe in 2015. They also released a split tape with Salome’s Dance on Occult Whispers. You can order a copy HERE!

Sierpien / Salome’s Dance split tape

Sierpien is a very underrated band and I’m still waiting for people to discover how amazing they are. Imagine if The Mob, Crisis, and Sikiera made a baby they would name it Sierpien. Anarcho punks and peace punks should be all into them. Sierpien’s lyrics are in Russian and the nature of the lyrics are political in nature. It makes for the perfect positive punk record to come out in a very very long time. This is one of those records I was waiting for in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when bands were just pumping out crust, grind, and pizza thrash. I couldn’t understand why peace punk just went away. Finally, we started to see a small resurgence with bands like OK?, Vivid Sekt, and Arctic Flowers and then would come the “post punk” explosion in the punk scene. It would take a few more years but finally Sierpien were born!

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One important fact I must say about Sierpien is in regards to Artem the lead vocalist. His vocals are on point, dark and yearning, you just can’t go wrong. Artem is also one of the most knowledgeable people regarding Zimna Fala and Eastern European post punk. He’s a genius! The LP was streamed and reviewed on Cvlt Nation and included a very in depth interview with Artem regarding the band and the current state of Russian and Ukrainian conflict. You can Read it HERE

Artem from Sierpien wearing the most awesome Cemetery shirt with artwork by Sam Nigrosh of Cemetery.

Sierpien are still playing and have released an EP and a split with Kandahar from Poland. They just finished recording their second LP and are currently looking for a label to release it. We can’t wait to hear it and DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!

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You can contact Sierpien HERE

You can buy Sierpien’s LP “Zawsze Nasze” HERE

We are also running a special bundle set for both Masquerade 12″ and Sierpien LP since it’s winter and both bands feel wintery to me. You can BUY THEM BOTH HERE

Next up MOTH… to be continued….

Happy New Year! Release schedule countdown 2015!

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Trishka Cisnerosian

We’ve decided to do a release schedule countdown for all the releases that came out in 2015 on Mass Media. Some releases are still available while others are sold out, nevertheless they all have a special place in our hearts.

Masquerade “Blood is the New Black” 12″ officially released around the 1st of the year 2015.

Photo by our friend David of Transylvanian Flag

Masquerade “Blood is the New Black” 12″ – Masquerade are from Helsinki, Finland they had released a demo in the summer of 2013 that was highly sought after and received some acclaim in modern deathrock circles. We were super excited to hear new recordings by Masquerade and most people had thought that they had broken up since they went through multiple lineup changes as the lead singer Suzi became known as difficult. We were happy to hear that they indeed continued on and had what we thought was a great follow up to their demo. The production value and aesthetic were on point and with Suzi working hard at maintaining a solid lineup and continually touring throughout Europe and eventually the US in late August 2015.

Official music video for “Needle Through a Bug” off their Demo.

Official Music Video for “All Things Hurt” off Blood is the New Black 12″

Masquerade live in Wroclaw, Poland at Return to the Batcave Festival 2015

For me Suzi is Masquerade she commands an audience similarly to Siouxsie Sioux, the same moves, vocal abilities, and fashion. Masquerade is no doubt informed by the Banshees and that is exactly what I love about them. It’s like if the Banshees made a new record and that is precisely why I love this record so much. It’s also probably why some people don’t like this record or are critical about it.

Masquerade live in St. Petersburg, Russian 2015

As noted Masquerade toured the Western US in August 2015, they were supposed to play San La Muerte Fest in San Antonio, Tx. and decided not to for logistic purposes. That was a real shame because they would have been a great fit and the shows that they did play in California were poorly attended unfortunately. Years ago if a band from Finland was touring the show would have undoubtedly been packed because it was a touring band from Finland. That’s just not the case anymore, it’s becoming harder and harder to get people to come out to shows, it’s like the movement has gone back to it’s infancy.

Suzi of Masquerade / Virgin in Veil 2015

The “Blood is the New Black” 12″ was released in Finland on Fight Records and in the US on Mass Media Records. Limited red vinyl is only available for the US version. It can be ordered direct through us HERE

Masquerade are still playing and have just finished working on a follow up to the “Blood is the New Black” 12″. Their new release will be released in Finland on Fight Records and they are currently looking for a US label to release it here as well, so contact them if you want to release it. Here is the official video for “Panic Paranoia” off their upcoming release in 2016.

You can follow Suzi on TUMBLR HERE

You can follow and contact Masquerade on Facebook HERE

You can buy Masquerade’s “Blood is the new Black” 12″ HERE

Next up Sierpien to be continued…