Heart Of Crime
by FOTOCRIME
©ough©ool
©ough©ool
80s new wave electro synthpop with baroque vox... mmmm yes
💮💮💮
little baby jesus get up & dance for us Favorite track: Inferno Rebels.
💮💮💮
little baby jesus get up & dance for us Favorite track: Inferno Rebels.
Heb13:8
Heb13:8
Delicate Prey is reminiscent of mid-80s Pet Shop Boys. I’m anxious to sit down and dig deep into this album.
Edit: This album is a total gem and has really surprised me. I had misjudged or assumed how it would “turn out”. What an eclectic masterpiece!
Edit: This album is a total gem and has really surprised me. I had misjudged or assumed how it would “turn out”. What an eclectic masterpiece!
Dissolution Wave
Dissolution Wave
More Fotocrime, More Fun for Me.
Favorite track: Learn To Love The Lash.
jared
jared
amazing, so exciting watching this transformation over the years, definitely sounds like no other, goth sax, southern twang, wax trax beats, this has it all!
Favorite track: Industry Pig.
marcelnaultjr
StiffUpper
Hans-Joerg Jung
Lisa Nocturne
kaaaarp
H. Burkholder
johnfer
tobiwankenobi3003
bbbvbbvb
Alex
Paul Connaughton
Frederic
thad.kook
Oscar The Grouch
Libertarian Nutcase
Hear + Now
raf1973
ironman64
arcadiansteve
slugg0h
AJZ001
Floyd X.
phatzwave
Mario Travers
greeenbergz
trenchgoat
noordenneonline
hisaceness
Sir_Kutz
amatah
WitchDoctorG
unpeudhuiledolive
markrob2892
eyedolatry
Dark3r
Soft Neon
Jonathan
xmsccmsdfsxsdf
nosliw1
_____
dlfy
drgwb
purolator
Nick
Cat Temper
Will Robinson
TimmyT
Abe Froman
from_the_lions_mouth
Mark Bronson
John Rowe
krychle
Freckin Luzzer
Bryan Petersen
consumecollective
hectordeasanchez
Stefanpopeffan
electronicmecca
Indrek Mesikepp
The Pinoy Cowboy
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Streaming + DownloadIncludes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Purchasable with gift card
$8 CAD or more
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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital AlbumComes in a 6-panel wallet sleeve.
Includes unlimited streaming of Heart Of Crime via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.ships out within 5 daysPurchasable with gift card$11 CAD or more
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ORDER VINYL HERE
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Heart Of Crime Limited Edition Cassette
Cassette + Digital AlbumProfessionally dubbed and manufactured cassette in Maltese cross style case. Limited edition first pressing of 100 copies.
Includes unlimited streaming of Heart Of Crime via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Sold Out
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1. |
Heart Of Crime
02:28
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2. |
Electric Café
02:44
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3. |
So So Low
03:11
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4. |
Delicate Prey
04:01
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5. |
Crystal Caves
04:12
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6. |
Politi Policia Polizei
03:44
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7. |
Industry Pig
02:43
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8. |
Zoë Rising
03:59
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9. |
Inferno Rebels
03:29
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10. |
Learn To Love The Lash
04:57
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11. |
Skinned Alive
04:04
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about
While Ryan Patterson, the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer behind Fotocrime, often sings in an intimately whispered baritone, he stands in stark contrast to the laconic troubadour role typically associated with his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Patterson has spent over two-and-a-half decades adding to the town’s legacy with his impassioned and activist-minded approach to music, his distinctive work as a graphic artist, and his contributions to nearly every aspect of creative underground culture. After his time fronting forward-thinking art-inflected punk bands, Patterson looked to the urban centers of London, New York, and Berlin for new sonic inspiration, drawing from the passion of his roots while tapping into the sounds of classic EBM and post-punk artists for Fotocrime.
On his third full-length Heart of Crime, Patterson continues to explore what he refers to as “electric Southern romanticism.” It’s an album that throbs with pulsing synths, hammering drum machines, and economic guitar hooks. Where so many artists have leveraged these tools towards stern stoicism, Patterson had a different objective for their emotional resonance.
“In my mind, Fotocrime is a meeting point between cold-war Europe and mid-century Americana,” Patterson says. “DAF meets Roy Orbison, Portishead meets Ricky Nelson. Raymond Chandler and Paul Bowles go to see a Douglas Sirk and Carol Reed double feature.”
This vision has been consistent across the entire Fotocrime catalog, but where 2020’s South of Heaven found Patterson’s songs supplemented by Steve Albini-recorded live drums, a different approach was required for its follow-up. The worldwide pandemic broke out right as Patterson kicked off the South of Heaven tour cycle with a string of shows in Mexico. Consequently, Heart of Crime is the austere response to quarantine life. “This is by far the most direct and personal thing I’ve ever done in that 99% of everything on the recording is me,” Patterson says. “It’s the first album I’ve ever recorded and mixed myself.”
You would never know that Heart of Crime is his first venture into engineering an album on his own. The title track opens the record with an arpeggiating synth line and motorik drum machine beat that recalls the earliest German electronic artists. Patterson subverts the near-robotic vocal performances of the vintage electronic krautrock cosmonauts by delivering a call-to-arms rife with human urgency. “Electric Café” opens with a dusty minor guitar chord, recalling some darker golden oldie, before the electronic kick and snare enter with their steady club-banger rhythm. One moment you’re gliding down Route 66 in some sepia-toned montage, the next you’re night-riding through a neon cityscape. There’s a bittersweet pop element to “So So Low” that chips away at the cold exterior of its mechanized pulse. It could almost serve as a standout track on an ‘80s film soundtrack, with a new wave allure that belies the heavy lyrical narrative of sorting through the belongings of a deceased loved one. Even something as minimal as the opening drum pattern of “Delicate Prey” feels steeped in the dichotomy between the urban and the pastoral—it conjures the opening beat of Pet Shop Boys’ cover of Willie Nelson’s “Always On my Mind.” Yet neither English synth-pop nor Texas country was the muse behind this rumination on the hunter and the hunted; Patterson claims the song was heavily influenced by ‘80s freestyle club music.
As the album progresses, the tone grows more menacing. “Politi Policia Polizei” fuses a minimalist analog drum pattern against Western twang bass VI as Patterson dryly mocks the modern police state and closes the song with a lyrical nod to The Exploited. “Industry Pig,” with its pummeling beat, metallic slap bass, and muscular riffs is sure to satisfy any fan of guitar-centric ‘90s industrial music. On “Inferno Rebels,” Patterson conjures a modernized mash-up of Can’s Delay 1968 and side B of Neu! ’75 through his use of propulsive rhythms and a proto-punk snarl. The song is also noteworthy for its ominous saxophone solo—a first in the Fotocrime catalog, performed by Patterson after picking up the instrument during isolation for the first time since early adolescence. Even the album’s pop apex, “Skinned Alive,” uses a beguiling melody and upbeat instrumentation to alleviate the song’s underlying meditation on mortality and loss.
On Heart of Crime, we hear the earnestness of the heartland fused with Patterson’s ties to the asceticism of the urban underground, like a post-punk Leonard Cohen. We’re also hearing an aspect of Fotocrime that’s a response and reaction to the times and available resources. It’s a record that yearns for a world outside our doors, that begs to be blasted on a massive PA in a seedy nightclub or a black-walled venue. It sounds steeped in isolation and reflection, but it reminds us of the communal experience of getting lost in a sea of people while the sound of a bass drum kicks our chests.
On his third full-length Heart of Crime, Patterson continues to explore what he refers to as “electric Southern romanticism.” It’s an album that throbs with pulsing synths, hammering drum machines, and economic guitar hooks. Where so many artists have leveraged these tools towards stern stoicism, Patterson had a different objective for their emotional resonance.
“In my mind, Fotocrime is a meeting point between cold-war Europe and mid-century Americana,” Patterson says. “DAF meets Roy Orbison, Portishead meets Ricky Nelson. Raymond Chandler and Paul Bowles go to see a Douglas Sirk and Carol Reed double feature.”
This vision has been consistent across the entire Fotocrime catalog, but where 2020’s South of Heaven found Patterson’s songs supplemented by Steve Albini-recorded live drums, a different approach was required for its follow-up. The worldwide pandemic broke out right as Patterson kicked off the South of Heaven tour cycle with a string of shows in Mexico. Consequently, Heart of Crime is the austere response to quarantine life. “This is by far the most direct and personal thing I’ve ever done in that 99% of everything on the recording is me,” Patterson says. “It’s the first album I’ve ever recorded and mixed myself.”
You would never know that Heart of Crime is his first venture into engineering an album on his own. The title track opens the record with an arpeggiating synth line and motorik drum machine beat that recalls the earliest German electronic artists. Patterson subverts the near-robotic vocal performances of the vintage electronic krautrock cosmonauts by delivering a call-to-arms rife with human urgency. “Electric Café” opens with a dusty minor guitar chord, recalling some darker golden oldie, before the electronic kick and snare enter with their steady club-banger rhythm. One moment you’re gliding down Route 66 in some sepia-toned montage, the next you’re night-riding through a neon cityscape. There’s a bittersweet pop element to “So So Low” that chips away at the cold exterior of its mechanized pulse. It could almost serve as a standout track on an ‘80s film soundtrack, with a new wave allure that belies the heavy lyrical narrative of sorting through the belongings of a deceased loved one. Even something as minimal as the opening drum pattern of “Delicate Prey” feels steeped in the dichotomy between the urban and the pastoral—it conjures the opening beat of Pet Shop Boys’ cover of Willie Nelson’s “Always On my Mind.” Yet neither English synth-pop nor Texas country was the muse behind this rumination on the hunter and the hunted; Patterson claims the song was heavily influenced by ‘80s freestyle club music.
As the album progresses, the tone grows more menacing. “Politi Policia Polizei” fuses a minimalist analog drum pattern against Western twang bass VI as Patterson dryly mocks the modern police state and closes the song with a lyrical nod to The Exploited. “Industry Pig,” with its pummeling beat, metallic slap bass, and muscular riffs is sure to satisfy any fan of guitar-centric ‘90s industrial music. On “Inferno Rebels,” Patterson conjures a modernized mash-up of Can’s Delay 1968 and side B of Neu! ’75 through his use of propulsive rhythms and a proto-punk snarl. The song is also noteworthy for its ominous saxophone solo—a first in the Fotocrime catalog, performed by Patterson after picking up the instrument during isolation for the first time since early adolescence. Even the album’s pop apex, “Skinned Alive,” uses a beguiling melody and upbeat instrumentation to alleviate the song’s underlying meditation on mortality and loss.
On Heart of Crime, we hear the earnestness of the heartland fused with Patterson’s ties to the asceticism of the urban underground, like a post-punk Leonard Cohen. We’re also hearing an aspect of Fotocrime that’s a response and reaction to the times and available resources. It’s a record that yearns for a world outside our doors, that begs to be blasted on a massive PA in a seedy nightclub or a black-walled venue. It sounds steeped in isolation and reflection, but it reminds us of the communal experience of getting lost in a sea of people while the sound of a bass drum kicks our chests.
credits
released August 27, 2021
Written, performed, produced, recorded and mixed by Fotocrime
Recorded at House Of Foto in Louisville, July 2020 - Feb 2021
Mastered by Dan Coutant/Sun Room Audio
Cover Painting by Noelia Towers
Shelley Anderson: Backing vocals on "Delicate Prey"
Aon Brasi: Bass guitar on "Skinned Alive"
Erik Denno: Rising end guitar on "Zoë Rising"
Pall Jenkins: Saw and backing vocals on "Learn To Love The Lash"
Janet Morgan: Vocals on "Crystal Caves" and "Skinned Alive"
Evan Patterson: Wandering and reverse guitar on "Learn to Love The Lash"
J. Robbins: Backing vocals on "Electric", "Low", and "Inferno", strings on "Inferno"
Ben Sears: Hi-hats on "Crystal Caves"
Nick Thieneman: Heavy guitar on "Industry Pig"
Cater Wilson: Battle toms and cymbals on "Industry Pig"
Written, performed, produced, recorded and mixed by Fotocrime
Recorded at House Of Foto in Louisville, July 2020 - Feb 2021
Mastered by Dan Coutant/Sun Room Audio
Cover Painting by Noelia Towers
Shelley Anderson: Backing vocals on "Delicate Prey"
Aon Brasi: Bass guitar on "Skinned Alive"
Erik Denno: Rising end guitar on "Zoë Rising"
Pall Jenkins: Saw and backing vocals on "Learn To Love The Lash"
Janet Morgan: Vocals on "Crystal Caves" and "Skinned Alive"
Evan Patterson: Wandering and reverse guitar on "Learn to Love The Lash"
J. Robbins: Backing vocals on "Electric", "Low", and "Inferno", strings on "Inferno"
Ben Sears: Hi-hats on "Crystal Caves"
Nick Thieneman: Heavy guitar on "Industry Pig"
Cater Wilson: Battle toms and cymbals on "Industry Pig"
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
FOTOCRIME Louisville, Kentucky
Fotocrime is singer/guitarist and producer Ryan Patterson, guitarist Nick Thieneman, and bassist Will Allard. With danceable, battle hymn drum machines and layered synths, Fotocrime brings monochrome clarity to electronic-meets-organic post-punk with driving bass, chiming guitars, and Patterson's unmistakable baritone. Fotocrime seethes with Cold War paranoia, modern-day malaise and smoky noir. ... more
discography
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Sep 2023 -
Jul 2022 -
Aug 2021 -
Mar 2021 -
Mar 2020 -
May 2018 -
Nov 2017 -
May 2017
contact / help
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