German dark electro outfit Acylum has put out “XXI21XXI” through Alfa Matrix on 6 November 2026. Spanning ten tracks in digital form, the record picks up where last December’s “XX20XX” left off — another pass through the project’s own archive, this time sharpening the same source material rather than simply rebuilding it.
If the earlier anniversary set leaned toward reconstruction, this follow-up drives the eight underlying songs harder: Pedro and Nadine Engel push each one into a more aggressive shape. “XXI21XXI” is available now on the Alfa Matrix store and streams in full over on Bandcamp.
Marking 21 years with a sharper rework
The release doubles as a 21st-anniversary marker for the project. Framed by the label as a direct sequel to “XX20XX,” it returns to the same eight cuts in a more extreme guise, setting “Romance – XXI21XXI” and “Masquerade – XXI21XXI” against the album’s heavier passages, while “Waldgeist – XXI21XXI” is anchored by a guest turn from Totem Obscura. The closing stretch offers two additional readings of “Alone – XXI21XXI,” one remixed by Diverje and one by Nano Infect.
‘XXI21XXI’ tracklist
- “Your Pain – XXI21XXI” (4:03)
- “Sieg Oder Walhalla – XXI21XXI” (4:00)
- “Romance – XXI21XXI” (3:06)
- “Alone – XXI21XXI” (4:14)
- “Kategorie C – XXI21XXI” (3:14)
- “The Rhythm Of Violence – XXI21XXI” (3:51)
- “Masquerade – XXI21XXI” (3:16)
- “Waldgeist – XXI21XXI” feat. Totem Obscura (3:28)
- “Alone – XXI21XXI” (Diverje remix) (5:12)
- “Alone – XXI21XXI” (Nano Infect remix) (4:17)
About Acylum
Fronted by Pedro and Nadine Engel, Acylum is a German act working across dark electro and industrial, now 21 years into its run. Over that span the duo has built a substantial Alfa Matrix catalog, among them the double-CD “Zuchthaus” in April 2024, a Wumpscut remix on the “Kalashnikov” download EP in March 2023, and a contribution to the “Ukraina” charity single in December 2022 that also gathered Aesthetische, Kant Kino and Cubic. The project sat for Side-Line interviews in June 2021 and again in May 2024, and in December 2025 it celebrated two decades with the reinterpretation album “XX20XX.”
“XXI21XXI” steps straight out of that anniversary record, carrying the eight-track core into rougher, more punishing territory with its Totem Obscura collaboration and the pair of closing “Alone” remixes. The wider label roster is worth a dig on the Alfa Matrix Bandcamp.