The Garden was still sleeping. Old samurai was teaching a younger lady the art of sword fighting. Kids were running along the paved ways. A lady was reading a small book in an arbour.

I was feeding fish in The Pond. They grew considerably since August, now as thick as man's arm. I was standing on a little bridge across the Pond strait, moving a school of fish by the direction the feed was dropped. It was a huge crowd of them in the water and they fought for food. One of them - entirely white with a pink spot near the mouth, like lipstick - was moving the ones who already have eaten down beneath. Then I went to a most remote corner of the garden, there was a fish loner. I gave it someting to eat, it picked a bit, not all though. Maybe sleeping, maybe deep in its thoughts. Then we stared at one another for some time and it swam away. Probably even this was too bustling for it. And I think I agree.

I burn aroma sticks all day long today. Never had any of those until I got to a little ¥100 shop near Shin-Okubo. I keep them since then for don't know what.

Whirles of smoke are making rounds in the air, going up to the lamp and I'm silently watching it. Shaking off the ashes to an envelope. When the air flow in the room changes, smoke gets into my eyes. "Letters of a dead man" on the screen. Flavour of apples, then black currant, gardenia, chocolate, now amber. And cold air slides along the floor from a balcony.

I'll keep these ashes in a match box. Ashes from these sticks are not simple, I cannot throw them into a bin just like that. They are to be scattered in the wind in some appropriate place, don't know where exactly yet.

In a manner of speaking semantiks won't do
In this life that we live we only make do
And the way that we feel might have to be sacrificed

Their history lasts for 26 years. Their new album is one of the most exciting musical events of the year. Dozens of great hits are in their pocket. Their photos are in hundreds of thousands of music stores worldwide. Last night they were here. And how wonderful is that!

Dave hasn't changed much since the last tour. Skips and jumps all over the stage with a mic support, shouting in the same manner that we all know. Fletcher's keyboards on the right side, Gore's keyboards on the left, although Martin played guitars more than synths.

Back visuals for this tour are really nice. Looks like a mirror broken into 6 pieces hanging at different angles in 3D, edges not meeting each other. There were animations, stills and real time stage and crowd video.

Dave was surely the center of attention. He easily took command of an audience eager to be led and that's what he always does. Gore was in a great shape too and sang a couple of his songs, among those - Damaged People, my favorite from the latest album. By the way, audience wasn't a bad singer either, especially when it comes to well known old albums.

Martin didn't change at all. While Dave's maturing with years, Martin is not, he's still fragile and delicate. So funny bobbing with guitar in his hands. And that's still that guitar, white semi-acoustic one that I adored in the times of "I Feel You" music video.

Fletcher was at his best. He was sleeking his hair, drumming on an imaginary kit in the air, folding arms on a chest, tapped with his feet and million other funny things. I couldn't see him actually playing and that's great, because it's a nature of Fletch.

It's hard to say which songs were met with more anticipation. I was very glad to see the audience was going mad with "Home" (because I always prefer Martin singing). Of course, old songs are easier to sing along. While songs like "I Want It All" are a complete nonsense.

They were called to play encore twice. First time, Martin had an ace up the sleeve - Somebody. I was standing there and understood I always thought of this song as a duo of Martin and Alan Wilder. I would really like to see Alan playing piano here, and to hear heartbeat as well. But still that was very pleasant.

The very last song was Goodnight Lovers and that was a brilliant final. Honestly, I was all like inside out listening to it.

Depeche Mode are incredibly fantastic guys. I used to fight for them in my teenhood with some rock outfit fan, and I still think I was right. Depeche Mode proved that again last night. Depeche Mode is forever, even if there is no more Depeche Mode.


Full set of a night:

1. Pain That I'm Used To
2. John The Revelator
3. Question Of Time
4. Policy Of Truth
5. Precious
6. Walking In My Shoes
7. Suffer Well
8. Damaged People
9. Home
10. I Want It All
11. Sinner In Me
12. I Feel You
13. Behind The Wheel
14. World In My Eyes
15. Personal Jesus
16. Enjoy The Silence

[encore]
17. Somebody
18. Just Can't Get Enough
19. Everything Counts

[encore]
20. Never Let Me Down Again
21. Goodnight Lovers

One of the most interesting american magazines dedicated to electronic music, Grooves, switches to online only distribution starting with year 2006. They are not going to publish paper issues any longer. I wonder what made them do so, probably it's just too much hassle for their type of business. But anyway, it's unlikely they're going down and from a point of consumer, I like the idea of file subscription distribution.

Have been an active subscriber for years and one of the most important matters for me is what to do with the magazine after I have read it. Currently they're in a pantry, backcatalogues of The Wire, Magnet, XLR8R and some other ones and I fear a moment when I'll have to move somewhere, paper is so heavy. And I wouldn't like to throw them away, it's a pleasure to leaf through old magazines with interviews, reviews and so on.

Some day in the past I had a crazy idea to scan all the backcatalogue but gave up very soon for its so time consuming. So the fact that Grooves is going digital is a salvation. We'll see what becomes of it all.

Mloski is a solo project of Anton Litovchenko, talented bulgarian musician with a nice feel for ambient sound, currently residing in the city of Varna (by the way, visited and adored by my mother).

Most part of the album "Study Of Flying" Anton presented at the ambient festival in Sofia accompanied by a fellow project Res. The music was supposed to score a movie on the screen, yet some say film wasn't adequate enough for the music and preferred to close their eyes. Now the album is published on a promising bulgarian label Mahorka.

There's no doubt Mloski's music is really good as soundtrack. Even with the first sounds of individual you can easily imagine slow dynamic of something grotesque and cold, beautifully growing. Maybe a crystal gaining its shape and shining with its cold white and blue lights. Album is soft and relaxing, yet there are some disturbances involved in the picture, like on a track naturalist - short piano chords are dubbed by harsch high synth noises, adding some king of an action to the music.

One of the most representative opuses here is a title track, study of flying, drawing a soundscape of an empty space developing, far from anyone's eyes. As I said earlier, Mloski has a good feel for sound and how imaginary environments could sound, and even that he's not playing much music as such, melody exists in his sound on its own, like there is music in a frozen sea or icicles. You can hear music in blowing of the wind or breaking waves, in all sonic nature of Mloski's music.

What is also good in the album is that it has a strong feeling of awakening and blooming, which means that Mloski is musically on his start. This work is absolutely in traditions of european ambient music and definitely makes a listener to wait for Mloski's next release which is soon to be out on Otium.

After The Stadium Techno Experience it was perfectly clear it's the last album of Scooter that's okay. They had to change something or else.

Obviously, the next one - Mind the Gap wasn't that much of a change. When the single Shake That was published, it was gleeful because of the dynamics and disco ball mood. But the album itself wasn't that satisfactory.

Yesterday the newest one was out - "Who's Got The Last Laugh Now?". I think I'll be short and will just put a few words for each track.

1. Lights Out - intro ambient tune, similar to Lifeforms.

2. Hello! (Good To Be Back) - remake of Gary Glitter's track of the same name. First single off the album and the most scootery and catchy track.

3. Privileged to Witness - remake of Walking on the Moon. Dance track with pitched up vocals in the chorus.

4. Rock Bottom - remake of a dance track, I think it is Explode, correct me if I'm wrong. Really nice version, although it reminds of Maria (I Like It Loud) a lot.

5. The Leading Horse - remake of four horsemen. Slower and nice version in general, but with pitched up voice again. Guys must love Vangelis a lot, since they covered his Pulstar before.

6. Take Me Baby - remake of Take Me Baby. Boring, just like the original.

7. Apache - remake of a very famous theme from westerns, Apache. Club acid sound.

8. See Me, Feel Me - very, very poor remake of Automatic Lover.

9. Unity Without Words pt.3 - Scooter had two parts of a track released on previous albums, now it's the third one. Instrumental.

10. Everlasting Love - very poor remake of Everlasting Love.

11. Seven Bridges - dance track, remake of Über sieben Brücken.

12. Finally, Mesmerized - typical for Scooter final track, instrumental trance. I would like to say it's their first new track on this so-called album, pardon my french. But I'm just not sure it's theirs, sorry. Most likely, it's just because I don't know the original.

Dear Scooter the band! We're sorry the last laugh is not yours! Please work harder next time, or Santa Claus won't bring you presents next year, like he will not do this Christmas.


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Aulis Vierhovssen
November 2005

I want Google to index the following words, so next I'm searching for them, I see they're a part of info universe: gley, gleymaker, tematika, zombism, mozambism.

Я хочу, чтобы Гугл проиндексировал эти слова, чтобы когда я в следующий раз искал их, видел, что они стали частью информационной вселенной: глей, глеймейкер, тематика, зомбизм, мозамбизм.

Ich will Google die Folgenden Wörter zu indizieren, damit nächst ich sie suche, ich sehe dass sie sind ein Teil von Infouniversum: gley, gleymaker, tematika, zombism, mozambism.

I can't really speak Swedish, sorry.

Orthodox christianity believes in idea that Constantinople (capital of Byzanthium) was the Second Rome and Moscow is the Third Rome now. And there'll be no fourth, only apocalypse instead.

And what I'm thinking of now is... the first Modern Talking was Modern Talking as such. Dieter Bohlen and Thomas Anders working together (just like Rome and Constantinople were a part of one Roman Empire). The carrier of Modern Talking spirit was Dieter (who here is a Byzanthium or Eastern Roman Empire). Then the Empire split into Western (Thomas) and Eastern (Dieter as Blue System) parts. Later on Thomas' career was ruined by wife-and-trojan-horse Nora (just like Rome was devastated by barbarians on emperor's service, and eventually fell).

Eastern part went on and had some infuence on others - Dieter produced many other artists like C.C.Catch or Chris Norman. Bizanthium Empire had a really important follower - young Russia, who inherited orthodox christianity and spirit of Second Rome.

That explains why Modern Talking and Blue System are so beloved in Russia and Eastern Europe. Modern Talking is a sacred symbol of faith in modern music.

Now, Russia was not a part of Roman Empire. It was a follower of the Second Rome, say - a student. In our story - a student of Dieter Bohlen, a part of his production team, Mark Ashley.

While Bizanthium fell under attack ot turks. Current Dieter's passion Estafania has some eastern blood, and Germany in whole is overflooded with turks.

Mark Ashley is a follower of old time Modern Talking traditions, he's the third Modern Talking. And there will be no prophets of sacred pop music after him, all the industry will just go down.

Mark Ashley is the Third Rome.

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Aulis Vierhovssen
November 2005