Twenty years ago this month (July 1991) Love’s Secret Domain was finally released by Coil. Ten years ago the album was remastered and reissued in time for Coil’s first (and what was to be their last) US appearance and today the duo at the heart of it all are no longer with us in this existence. To honor the album’s birthday, we’re featuring reflections on the album this week and words from a few of those who were involved.

Soundpool follow their critically acclaimed 2010 album Mirrors In Your Eyes with this fantastic limited CD EP (Killer Pimp will only sell 500 copies) of six remixes and reinterpretations. Syntaks, Strategy, GTO, Screen Vinyl Image, Colder, and Lawrence Chandler (of Bowery Electric fame) have all twisted and turned these soon-to-be-classic pop gems around and infused them with new life. Available separately or FREE with a purchase of the Mirrors In Your Eyes LP while supplies last.

Brian McBride has been recording music as one half of Stars of the Lid since 1995, but 2010 has been an especially active and varied year for him.  Last month, he released The Effective Disconnect, his long-awaited second solo album and first foray into composing a film soundtrack.  He also recently co-founded a record label (Failed Better) and made his debut as a member of Bell Gardens on the Hangups Need Company EP, a significant stylistic departure from his past work.  Brainwashed caught up with Brian to gather some insight on each release along with his other current activities.

Little Annie and Baby Dee begin a long stretch of European shows this week both with and without Marc Almond. The two have been collaborating on a record, which will hopefully be available in 2011. We talked with both briefly about their recent music and their time together.

2010 marks the 30th year of existence for The Legendary Pink Dots. Their latest album, Seconds Late for the Brighton Line is out now and they begin their extensive North American tour this week on Friday, October 15th in Vancouver, British Columbia. Brainwashed talked very briefly with Edward Ka-Spel, taking a snapshot of the current, about the latest album, the forthcoming shows, and the ever changing state of the Dots.

Aachen, Germany-based Christoph Heemann has made a name for himself as a musician, composer, remix artist, and engineer through groups like HNAS, Mimir, Mirror, In Camera, and collaborations with Charlemagne Palestine, Jim O'Rourke, Merzbow, Organum, Nurse With Wound, Current 93, and others. His artwork has graced covers for Edward Ka-Spel, The Tear Garden, Aeolian String Ensemble, Ragnar Grippe, and Ultra, and through his Streamline label he has issued music by John Duncan, Little Annie, Keiji Haino, Intersystems, Limpe Fuchs, Xhol Caravan, and more. Heemann is making a rare trip through the USA with 8 live shows scheduled beginning in Boston on Friday, October 8th. This brief interview is only a snapshot of what he's currently up to.

Aranos will play at Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Co. Laois, Ireland 5th of September 2010.

David Wilson, curator of the New England Synthesizer Museum, passed away on Friday, August 27th in Nashua, NH, according to the Nashua Telegraph. He was known in the community for his incredible collection of vintage synths as well as his extensive knowledge and skills at repairing the most obscure ones for various owners and dealers. A video excursion was made back in October 2007 by Brainwashed for The Eye. Dave was 49.

Over the last week the system at Brainwashed.com was upgraded. The database had to be migrated from an older version to a newer one and many things, other than the appearance, have changed. We hope everybody can find everything that was on the older version but feel free to let us know somehow if things don't work or look right!

We are sad to learn of the news of the passing of the remaining WaxTrax! co-founder Dannie Flesher. Were it not for Dannie Flesher and partner Jim Nash, Brainwashed probably wouldn't exist. WaxTrax! were responsible for the widest scale introduction in North America of bands Meat Beat Manifesto, Greater Than One, Legendary Pink Dots, and Coil in the late 1980s, all of which were the foundation for Brainwashed.com. For an excellent article on Dannie and Jim see what the Chicago Tribune had to say in their Turn It Up article. Thanks Dannie & Jim.

The staff of Brainwashed are saddened by the news of the untimely passing of drummer Jerry Fuchs. Jerry was close to many friends of Brainwashed and played in numerous groups including !!!, The Juan Maclean, and Maserati. We wish to extend condolences to his friends and family through these difficult times.

Make everyone an imaginary "Mix CD" for our new virtual Mix CD Exchange Party section. Send the tracklist (and only a tracklist) to mixcd at brainwashed. Make sure it is short enough to fit on a disc, avoid shameless self-promotion (ie don't put your own songs on it!), tell us who you are and where you are, and give it a title!

Here at Brainwashed we're devastated when we hear of labels sending music to the landfills. There's plenty of uses for spare CDs: keep some at the home, office, give to friends, leave at coffee shops, use as coasters, etc...  We're currently trying to unload some CD overruns: CDs that have no artwork. We're giving them away at $1 each and have a number of titles in the Brainwashed Commerce section. 

There's no arguing how influential John Hughes has been on most of the staff and writers of Brainwashed and we would like to take a moment to thank him posthumously for all he did for the world of music. The soundtracks to the films he either wrote, directed, or both were the templates for some of the best mix tapes that were passed around in the '80s and obscure little touches like the massive wall-sized Cabaret Voltaire poster in Ferris Bueller's Day Off get the big thumbs up in this corner of the music world. He also raised a great guy with great taste, John III, whose Hefty Records has long been a Brainwashed fave label from its inception. Our hearts go out to his family following such an unexpected passing.

Brainwashed is sad to report that the van of Kranky artist Raglani was broken into after the performance at this year's No Fun Fest. Both Joseph Raglani and Steve Hauschildt's gear was stolen—all of the gear they basically own and use. Authorities and used gear shops were notified but nothing has turned up this week. A donation fund has been set up at Kvist Records and we would also like to post the gear list in case anyone comes across a pile resembling this.

We are all sad at the loss of Charles Cooper of Telefon Tel Aviv. Charlie went missing Wednesday, January 21st and was found on Monday morning in Chicago according to a report by CBS2 Chicago. Joshua from Telefon Tel Aviv posted the following on their myspace page Wednesday:

A stunning video trailer from brainwaves has been pains-takingly assembled from the footage captured by the amazingly talented guys of ZF FILMS and is now available to view on Vimeo. At this time no decisions have been made for a more complete project: a massive multi-DVD set of the weekend; a consise documentary style collection of highlights; or something somewhere in between include possibilities. 

It is with much regret that we announce that Charalambides has pulled out of the Brainwaves Festival. Following two family emergencies the duo have canceled all remaining commitments this year. We extend our deepest sympathies to both Tom and Christina Carter. Since their set was scheduled on the Kranky day, we hope to fill their slot with another Kranky act.

It is crucial this early in the game to get sponsors for the 2008 Brainwaves Festival.  We need money to pay for air fare, accommodations, theater rental, insurance, and various other things.  Once again we're offering three levels of sponsorship packages:

Bronze Level: your name in our sponsorship list on future ads and print materials, a link to your Web site from the Brainwaves site, eternal gratitude. ($200)

Silver Level: all the above + a merchandise table for one block (Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, or Sunday afternoon) and two free tickets. ($500)

Gold level: all the above but the merchandise table for the entire festival duration and free ads on Brainwashed.com for a year. ($1500)