‘Forbidden’ is the title of the new single, video and EP from SEXSOMNIA; the darkwave / electro / post-punk hybrid from Montreal, Canada. Joined by special guest Marita Volodina of Poland’s Stridulum on vocals, SEXSOMNIA released the new Forbidden EP this week (Monday, 25 August 2025), alongside the new video for the title track.
Premiering with Post-punk.com, the new single version of ‘Forbidden’ follows an earlier ‘Shadow Mix’ of the track, released in July. Frontman Philip Faith spoke to Post-punk.com about the distinct identities of the two different versions:
“The earlier Shadow Mix release of Forbidden is a deconstructed version of the original track, made for dancefloors… On the other hand, this ‘official’ EP version is more dark-rock oriented, with a hard beat and a spy/surf theme played on a Bass VI, and a focus on the driving bass, analogue keys and lush strings: more in line with acts like She Past Away, Bragolin, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Syd Barrett. The male vocals are more present in this version, and there is a pre-chorus that is absent in the Shadow Mix.”
Post-punk.com’s Alice Teeple said of the new single:
“The track’s core is feverish: dual basslines grinding beneath synthetic atmospheres, driven percussion, and a voice that slips between invocation and surrender. It is a song built on paradoxes, on hunger disguised as restraint, on the tremor of desire where control erodes. That sense of polarity: pleasure cut with danger, intimacy tied to exile, haunts the lyrics. They describe eyes that pierce, chains invisible but unbreakable, the quicksand pull of a kiss that cannot beheld. Desire here is destructive and devotional, consuming yet seductive.”
– Alice Teeple, Post-punk.com, USA
Earlier reviews for the Shadow Mix of ‘Forbidden’:
“…a prime example of the band’s distinctive gothic electro/rock sound, presented in both the Shadow mix and its original.” – ReGen Magazine, USA
“…Sexsomnia offers up a sacrifice of Devilish synths and hefty comping rhythms… like stepping into another reality… a sinister world of gothic electronica spins before your ears.” – SoundRead Six, UK
“…a dark, sensual, yet volatile acquisition that is built around forbidden desire, the overload of sensory organs, and the pushing of boundaries. The lyrics of the song, the sophisticated but sinister black flow of music – along with the video clip –depicts a world full of intense, inner beating, where desire blends with guilt, curiosity and fear…” – Kollektiva, Hungary
“On ‘Forbidden’, Sexsomnia once again reveal themselves as sonic alchemists, uniquely blending dark romanticism, electronic chill, and emotional depth…” – Monkeypress.de, Germany
“…bold and sensual. Wavering between singing and spoken word, the eroticism drips from each word and every breathy sighed ah. Nothing is hurried, the rhythms constant and the electronics contain the prohibited, while the bass draws us in. Faith’s voice is the gritty foil in the chorus against Volodina’s… full of latex and blindfolded, as all the senses become carnal, delving into the realms of fetish…“Forbidden” is going to slow burn on the dancefloor in the most delightful way” – Onyx Music Reviews, Australia
Talking about the brand-new Forbidden EP (self-released / no label), 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.”
Founded in October 2021 by 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 dual basses 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.
The Forbidden EP by SEXSOMNIA is out now as a download from Bandcamp, and streaming from Spotify and all the usual outlets.