Cold Choir - Velvet Surrender

Darkwave built for bodies in motion, Velvet Surrender pairs Cold Choir’s nocturnal atmosphere with the pulse of electro, EBM, and the club music that shaped them.

Released in 2022, Velvet Surrender is the second EP from Asheville, North Carolina duo Cold Choir, following 2019’s New Shadows. Franky Victoria and Mario Martinez draw from their experiences growing up in Miami during the ’90s, where electro, freestyle, techno, and darker alternative music overlapped freely. Those influences give Cold Choir a sound that sits comfortably within contemporary darkwave while refusing to stay confined by it.

Opening track “TRNZT” sets the tone with a grinding electro bassline, spoken vocals, and an arrangement that gradually mutates over nearly seven minutes. “Violet Roses” gets stranger, pairing darkwave electronics with unexpected textures, while “Runaway” retreats into something more shadowy and cinematic. The bilingual “Solo Yo” brings a melancholy pulse to the dancefloor before “Falling” closes the EP in a wash of noisy, mechanical electronics.

What makes Velvet Surrender particularly effective is the tension between sensuality and severity. Cold Choir can build rhythms designed for a packed dark club without sanding away the rougher edges. Beats distort, voices drift through reverb, and familiar EBM structures are repeatedly interrupted by touches of glitch, techno, and experimental electronics. The duo describe their work as exploring sexuality and societal irreverence, themes that fit naturally with the EP’s combination of physicality and confrontation.

The five-track EP was produced by Martinez, with lyrics and vocals by Victoria and mastering by Slade Templeton. This vinyl edition comes pressed on striking magenta pink with black splatter vinyl and includes a deluxe lyric sheet.

Velvet Surrender is a strong snapshot of the modern American darkwave underground: seductive, restless, unapologetically electronic, and engineered for the hours when the dancefloor gets darker.