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Review: Veneno is the most beloved transgender TV star in Spain and now she arrives on the equally revered Dark Entries label as part of Madrid Pride on June 30th. Cristina Ortiz was a sex worker when she was discovered by the TV program "Este Noche Cruzamos el Mississippi." She became a regular on it with a great sense of wit and a unique way of relaying stories about her work on the streets. Her career in music started in 1996 and has seen her serve up big Eurobeat tunes like 'Veneno Pa Tu Piel' and house cuts such as 'El Rap De La Veneno'. Two mixes of both of those hit tunes are presented here and are enduring gay anthems that will light up any party.

Review: By the time they released the cheekily titled Deep House Anthems in 1991, Chris Shepard and Mike Mangino had been releasing thrillingly odd cassettes as Smersh for eight years. Despite the title, it's typical of their work, focusing as it does on a bombastic fusion of industrial attitude, EBM style vocals, ragged acid lines and obvious electro influences. Here, four tracks from that cassette appear on vinyl for the first time, thanks to the efforts of San Fran crate diggers Dark Entries. The quartet of cuts is as bombastic and full throttle as you'd expect, with acid-fuelled opener "Rhythm Crash" and techno slammer "Hard Wired" being our pick of the bunch.

Review: Much is made of the love that Bill Converse from Austin, Texas, has for classic music making hardware (as opposed to the computer-based solutions most find convenient these days), but at the end of the day it's the results he gets rather than the means that have cemented his reputation as one of the most interesting names operating in the US today. This six track selection is no exception, suitably freed-up from convention or restriction and executed with a radioactive excitement that shines directly out of the grooves. Check the rapid fire snares of 'The Last Time', the eerie, horn-like screeches of 'Measurement (Of What?)' or 'Take Apart', with its ascending Detroit-style bassline, for further proof, or just dive in and enjoy the whole lot.

Review: Just the one reissue this month from Dark Entries, but it's a real synthpop gem with Opera Multisteel's self titled debut from 1984 is granted a new edition. Aside from a cassette release in 1987, this is the first proper reissue and it presents the chance to get your hands on a truly rare, weird and wonderful piece of music. The vocals might be a tad conspicuous on first listen, but if you give them a chance to sink in you'll realise how quirky and special they really are. Each track stems form the same seed, a fast-paced, drum machine-led chant about life, love and loss.

Review: Dark Entries label regulars De-Bons-en-Pierre are back with more of their scuzzy delights in the form of their Card Short of a Full Deck EP. It's drenched in textbook sludginess as is often the way with Beau Wanzer and Maoupa Mazzochetti ever since they came together in 2016. These tunes were all originally written back in 2019 for live performances and really find the pair pushing at the boundaries of accepted social norms. The absurd sounds pair skipping rhythms with dark and freaky basslines and plenty of eerie rave chords to make for an all-new kind of dance floor energy.

Review: Dark Entries are masters of Italo reissues and they have a number of them dropping at the moment. This one is of Garland's 'Heartbeat' which comes original from 1986. It is a true dancefloor gem that bares all the hallmarks of the era that still remain so loved today. Claudio Corradini produced it with Massimo Filippi and Art Deco singer and songwriter Claudio Valenti used this project for his more club ready sounds. 'Heartbeat' (song version) is a mid tempo tune with sleek staccato bass and a sing-along-worthy chorus that echoes Bronski Beat. The Dance Version is extended for DJs. A postcard with lyrics and liner notes is also included.

Review: Detroit-based Code Industry, for those who know, were a highly regarded and influential EBM-techno outfit. The always reliable Dark Entries has been digging in their vaults to serve up this vital reissue of their Structure EP. The quartet of Rob Myers, E.N. Sevy, Kyl Crys, and William Keith formed in 1989 having previously worked as Code Assault and were rare black artists working in the world of EBM and industrial. They were socially and politically minded so issues of racism, the media, and the hypocrisy of patriotism all comes up in their music which is denied by taught synths and dark vocal whispers that echo the work of acts like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb. Add in high tech grooves and you have s fantastic EP that was originally released in 1991 on the Antler-Subway label.

Review: The ever-popular and always innovative Dark Entries welcomes Lust Pattern for more deviant electro explorations here and i isn't the first time the artists has graced the label in such fashion: Ryan Armbridge has previously done so as Linea Aspera many times before, exploring coldwave revivalist sounds alongside Zoe Zanias. With this alias, though, he looks to post-punk and electro-funk for inspiration. Opener 'Forming Lines' is redolent of Drexciyan squelch with plenty of live drumming powering it on. 'Choreography' has a similarly aquatic feel but with faster drums and more urgent funk and 'It's Right There In Front Of You' then slows to a predatory and menacing crawl. 'No Floor' is a motorik workout with the squelchiest of mutant synth sounds and rickety rhythms.

Review: Hassan Ideddir's 1989 single "Atfalouna" sees an expanded repress courtesy of Dark Entries. Born to Berber parents in Morocco, Ideddir began making music at the age of 10 after being discovered singing in the stairwell by his school's headmaster. Encouraged by his peers, he began playing concerts, and his status grew. In 1987, he played a string of sold-out concerts in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh, in support of a children's charity. The success of these concerts secured him a record deal, and he went to Paris to record his debut single "Atfalouna" in 1988.