Pain Magazine

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.

As if stalked by a frenzied god of carnage, Pain Magazine treads through the dusty debris of predatory capitalism: weary, numb, trembling with rage. For this ad hoc alliance of the post-hardcore ferocity of Birds in Row and the industrial techno precision of Kimifromtheinternet and Louisahhh, sound is about expressing lament. With nasty noise and cold flames, the France-based faction exact truths from humanity’s gaping wound, but also find moments of desperate, cathartic beauty: “You want it dark, I want it darker.”