WGT 2024

12 ILLUSIONS is a newly-launched German dark electro pop band.

Leading members are Georg Lenhardt, drummer & percussionist of DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER, and Arno Zillmer, lead singer of his eponymous group. These musicians create an emotive musical cocktail characterized by progressive rhythms, catchy synthesizer lines and atmospheric guitars which paired with a dark but shimmery voice. The band draws inspiration from the likes of Depeche Mode, And One, Wolfsheim, VNV Nation… just to name a few.

12 ILLUSIONS is injecting original creativity into the pop-wave genre. For millions, this era is the time of their lives! A bleeding heart, grown up, and mature.

Formed in 2006, Automelodi is a constantly evolving project based around the solo work of songwriter/producer Xavier Paradis. With a career that spans over two decades, Paradis is a well-established figure in Montreal’s dense electronic music culture, releasing over time with various projects, performance line-ups, or under different monikers such as Arnaud Lazlaud. He also collaborates with artists like Liz Wendelbo (of Xeno & Oaklander) as the duo Liz and László, as well as Latvian Producer Dmitry Distant.

Automelodi’s music embraces and re-contextualizes a spectrum of influences that include the lesser-known European synthpop and post-punk of the latter Twentieth Century, combined with literary stylizations reminiscent of Gallic songwriters such as Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Fontaine—with nearly all vocals delivered in French. Following the self-released first EP, an eponymous album was released in 2010 by the now defunct Brooklyn label Wierd Records. The second LP, Surlendemains acides, was released in digital format in 2013. A third LP, Mirages au futur verre-brisé was released in 2019 on Austin's Holodeck Records. The release was followed that same year by an extensive tour of Europe and a partial tour of the USA in early 2020.

In parallel to his work as Automelodi, Paradis has also been very active over the past two decades as a music producer.

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Deloraine is an eight-member band from the Czech Republic, which was founded in 2016. In their songs, the band deals with themes from fantasy literature as well as from ancient pagan times. Deloraine has released two albums, Vlaštovka and Srdce z kamene (both of which were named album of the week on the biggest Czech music portal musicserver.cz), and several singles including two music videos made for the popular game Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Echoberyl is a darkwave duo formed in Paris at the end of 2018 by Cecilia Dassonneville and Adriano Iacoangeli. They debuted in 2019 with the album “Apparition” (Swiss Dark Nights), followed by “The Awakening of a Mutant Girl” in 2020 (Cold Transmission Records). In 2021 they created their own label and released the third album “Mother Solitude and Other Dark Tales”. Cecilia and Adriano are passionate storytellers using dark, pulsating music as their primary medium. Over the past two years Echoberyl has carved out a very personal space in the dark scene thanks to tracks with a distinctive personality, powerful sounds and melancholy melodies. Songs full of fascinating, scary, sensual, multifaceted female characters to reflect on the present and on our destiny.

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