With its video premiering on Belgium’s Side-Line.com (Tuesday 22 July), ‘Forbidden (Shadow Mix)’ is the new remix and video-single from SEXSOMNIA; the darkwave / electro / post-punk hybrid from Montreal, Canada.
Joined by special guest Marita Volodina (of Poland’s Stridulum) on vocals, SEXSOMNIA are set to release their latest EP, Forbidden, featuring two special mixes and videos for the title track. The EP also features guest vocalists Isabelle Young and Jacinthe Benoit; and another remix track, from Martin Bowes of ATTRITION. The Forbidden EP is released on 25 August 2025, with presales on Bandcamp launched this week.
Of the new Shadow Mix of ‘Forbidden’ and its video, frontman Philip Faith says:
“After we finished the recording sessions, I felt like that song could be interesting on the dancefloor, with less of the organic darkwave sound of the original. During one of my resident DJ nights at Cabaret Berlin for a fetish event, it all became came clear to me, and the next day I started de-constructing ‘Forbidden’. The idea was to have an eerie, hypnotic, dance version with elements of industrial, trance, and dark disco with more ghostly vocals. For the Shadow Mix, I used my ACCESS Virus T1, Moog Minitaur, Vsynth as well as a few analogue synths and drum-machines.”
“For the video, I used a BTS video of a previous photo session done for Dark Beauty Magazine at the time, called “Love Under Will”, with two faceless characters. And I decided to go for a monochrome vintage effect, with film noir lighting.”
Founded in October 2021 by dual bassists Philip Faith (bass guitars, programming, keys, vocals) and Pat Gaudette (bass guitars), and joined soon afterwards by Michael K. Rien (electronic percussion, synths), SEXSOMNIA take their name from a complex sleep disorder. Frontman, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, Philip Faith, has collaborated with the likes of Decoded Feedback, Third Realm, Edward Ka-Spel, Oneiroid Psychosis, and Blind Agony. Pat Gaudette, a local legend on the Montreal hardcore punk and post-punk scene, has played with Unruled, Hexapheen, and NowFuture; while Michael K. Rien, whom the band call a “driving energy”, is known for his electronic dance project Earth Chronicles, and is a former member of nu-metal outfit, Special Ops.
The trio’s trademark sound brings together bass and baritone guitars that are sometimes melodious, and sometimes corrosive; alongside darkwave-electronic atmospheres, and pounding dancefloor beats. Drawing on influences such as The Cure, Giorgio Moroder, Propaganda, Trentemøller, Joy Division, Ladytron, Velvet Acid Christ, and David Lynch, since early 2022, SEXSOMNIA have released a raft of singles, videos, and EPs, followed in 2024 by the full-length album debut, Transcendent, on French label Manic Depression Records.
Talking about the forthcoming Forbidden EP, Philip says:
“We’ve been lucky with this EP to have some amazing collaborators on board. Marita Volodina from Stridulum sings on ‘Forbidden’: working with her was pure bliss – total symbiosis. We even succeeded shooting a video together, long distance between Canada and Poland. Isabelle Young, a vocalist who comes from the jazz scene, explores a darker side on ‘Vapor’. And last but not least, we have the honour of including a remix for ‘Nigrum Viduam’ (with Jacinthe Benoit on guest vocals) by none other than ATTRITION. Martin Bowes (ATTRITION) has also mastered the EP.”
“I hope that this EP will resonate with the listeners the same way it resonated with us during the creation process.”
The Forbidden EP by SEXSOMNIA is released 25 August 2025, with presales on Bandcamp available now.