Gothic Industrial Band BATAVIA Unveils New Album, „Batavia And Their Friends“

BATAVIA is less about the band, but more about the people behind it. The two had been acquainted years ago and reconnected only by chance. The chemistry between them was immediately apparent and scarcely has there been a day where they have been apart since. They were married in November of 2019 in a retro arcade in downtown Jacksonville, before an Addams Family pinball machine, in true nerdy-goth fashion. Both being musicians, having strikingly similar musical tastes and already doing everything else together, it was a natural step to form a musical project. BATAVIA is a gothic industrial band from Jacksonville Florida. The band is comprised of husband and wife duo Terri and Ed Cripps.

Terri’s comeuppance was in the Madison,Wisconsin scene. She began playing piano and singing from a very young age. Ed spent most of his formative years playing in bands in the Providence and Boston area. He had been recording from his teenage years on, starting with primitive tracker software and thrift shop synthesizers to score video game mods.

They both came into the punk and industrial scene during its 90s stride and draw much of their inspiration from the music of that era; Skinny Puppy, 16Volt, C-Tec, Godflesh as well as goth and post-punk bands The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Smiths and a litany of other influences.

BATAVIA’s music is an amalgamation of all those influences, using those textures as a framework and building into new directions, painting vibrant pictures, exploring new ideas and to make more of the music they would want to listen to themselves.

BATAVIA are signed to Tigersquawk records

Review – BATAVIA AND THEIR FRIENDS

Hello people, a new day a new review, here comes Batavia, of which I have never heard anything, so the suspense is great again! When I saw the cover I thought it was the new record of French fries and beer (but they don’t exist anymore), the two people on the cover looked to me at first like Nils Bokelberg and Britney Spears? In an old Viva backdrop that was supposed to represent the 70/80, nice kitschig. . . yeah!

The „record“ is full of mixes (so probably the songs have been around for a while and now friends of the band have remixed them?!), so let‚s see how that sounds! Song 1 and 8 and 11- The Absinthian: 1. „The Absinthian (Grendel Mix)“, yay, starts off nice and New Order-like, great old school drums and keys, the female voice is unexpected but cool. A really great song and the mix by Grendel is fantastic, probably my first TIP TOP!

8. „ The Absinthian (Beta Virus Mix)“, I personally don‚t like it that much, everything a bit too distorted here, voice guitar, only the drums run „straigt“ through, I liked the Grendel Mix better!

11. „ The Absinthian (Green Fairy Mix)“, here the song really sounds completely different, it‚s driving, still I prefer the Grendel Mix, but I am also what „old school„, this is what for the cyber-gothics of today, fits and is good! ? Song 2 and 9 and 12 – Scab Mask: 2nd “ Scab Mask (Alors On Dance Mix)“, here it gets a bit more gruff, industrial vibes and the typical vocal sequences, a bit of „haaaaaaa haaaaaaa“ in between, that‚s how it starts, nice break in the middle, are there cats screaming?. . . i don‚t think so, the voice very warped this time, the mix is good if not really catchy.

9. „ Scab Mask (Mach Fox Mix)“, wishy washy mix, kinda confused, makes me nervous, the mix is hmmmm. . . . A „skip“ for me! Sorry but you can get away with one and I‚m sure others think it‚s great.

12. „ Scab Mask (Microwaved Mix)“, starts like a story from Europa radio plays, then the distorted voice and distorted guitar keys? the pad plays long the same sounds alternating with long always the same violin sounds, then again radio play, why not?!

Mix 3 and 7 and 13 – Step 13 : 3. “ Step 13 (Hell Miix by Spankthenun)“, she wants hell back, nice mix, the voice is great, nice sound structure, from the middle it gets even more rhythmic, the mix is well thought out, pure Hellraiser feeling. 

7. „Step 13 (Liquid Crack Mix)“, this mix is a bit faster, I like it much better, a great „dance-song“ full of energy, you like to go to this hell.

13. „ Step 13 (Haunted Halfway House Mix)“, is also good, maybe a bit too much house, but not bad, it depends on what kind of music you prefer to listen to, if you like „fucking shit“ talk in between, this is perfect.

Mix 4 and 10 – Ab Initio:

4. “ Ab Initio (Insatiable Void Mix) „, strong basses buzz in sea breezes, distorted voice in a danceable sound, Kraftwerk sound add-ons in between end to the beach again, here again a strong mix, now I have to check if the songs are available somewhere in the original and how it sounds! ?

10. “ Ab Initio (Psyence Fiction Mix) „, also has a bit too much sound, doesn’t get stuck like that, I stick to the Insatiable Void Mix, there was less more, and here I miss the sea! ?

Mix 5: „Fields of Gray (UHF Mix)“, is a little bit quieter and at first it‚s just a little bit of a bobble through your ears, the mix fits well into the overall picture, there‚s only one mix of this, but there would have been more for sure, still great, especially the drum parts go in well. All in all all great mixes, some just satisfying, others are super awesome, so now I have to see how the songs sound unmixed, I‚m curious, my tips: The Absinthian (Grendel Mix), Step 13 (Liquid Crack Mix), Fields of Gray (UHF Mix). 

written by Karsten Zakrzewski