Ash Code
Dark Wave
RIYL: Gary Numan / Sisters of Mercy
Like a rediscovered Gary Numan or Sisters of Mercy recording from the 80s, Ash Code are purveyors of richly layered synthpop, that demands your immediate attention. In fact, the sense of 80s familiarity you experience when listening to their music offers the listener an easily accessible entry point into their music. But from there, you are taken on a dark journey that is uniquely created by Ash Code.
Ash Code is an Italian Dark Wave band formed in 2014 in Napoli by the singer Alessandro Belluccio, the keyboardist Claudia Nottebella and the bass player Adriano Belluccio. By their own description, Ash Code music covers a wide range of genres including “post-punk, Synthpop and EBM.” The band explains that they chose their name because “the two words of the band’s moniker have the initials A and C corresponding to those of the band members. They chose “Ash” in homage to the active volcano near their city Napoli, Vesuvius, and “Code” to evoke something indefinite yet existentialist.” Fair enough!
Ash Code’s latest release is “Perspektive” featuring Die Selektion’s Luca Gillian. It’s the first time that the band has had a song sung in German. There is something intriguing by the way in which the vocals are laid on top of the music, in a way that seems that they are almost alienated from the song itself. It conveys a sense of distancing that only fuels the sense of dystopian strangeness when hearing the music.
Ash Code has been working hard to tour and promote their music beyond their native Italy. From their inception in 2014, they have toured Europe, and have played at big Dark/Goth festivals like Wave-Gotik-Treffen, Entremuralhas 2015 and Nocturnal Culture Night 2015. In August 2017, they made their first Latin American tour playing in Perù, Argentina and Mexico. So, it seems word is getting out about the band.
Get out of your comfort zone and check them out!
