"Music that wears eyeliner on the top and bottom – and really just puts eyeliner everywhere. After all, this is DARK WAVE, let us repeat: POST-PUNK." (skug) With their first EP titled “I”, Elastic Skies released a debut mini-album last year designed for venting, being sad, and dancing. It’s an attempt to reorganize one’s own thoughts and ideas and to confront oneself with what has been repressed. Music as therapy, expressed through dark, dreamy guitars and noisy trails of reverb. The 80s drum machine — sometimes pounding, sometimes more delicate — is also a constant presence, giving voice to frustration and sadness. Catharsis through pop music, more precisely through a mélange of dark wave, post-punk, and synthpop, also forms the foundation for the second, upcoming EP “II” (October 2025). Themes like gentrification, patriarchal violence, and self-optimization are integral parts of the project. The unmistakable voice and synth sounds of Nora Blöchl, along with the wavy electric guitars of producer Patrick Tilg, hold the sonic framework tightly together. Now, they’re finally bringing their music to the world’s stages, aiming to play their way into the heart of the goth and post-punk scene. For fans of: Boy Harsher, Lebanon Hanover, and The KVB

Known for crafting experimental cold wave, vienna-based artist RIO OBSKUR seamlessly blends performative elements with dark, immersive soundscapes. In her artistic approach, she explores the delicate intervals between words — those silent moments beyond words that still resonate — and finds how little can evoke so much. Through her dialog with poetry, text fragments, and various forms of expression, she invites you to witness her journey — embracing haunting melodies and transforming them into something extraordinary.