IMMERSION (MALKA SPIGEL & COLIN NEWMAN)
Mye og mangt har blitt skrevet om duoen, paret Spigel/Newman. Vi snakker historisk kaliber. Og skal noen bli kalt legender må det nok skje her. Hva enn såkalt kunstpop, postpunk og no new wave noensinne måtte angå. Banebrytende, knivskarpt, samtidig “soft spoken”. Til utfordring for sine samtidige og inspirasjon for musikere, kunstere og publikum gjennom generasjoner.
Én gang hver for seg - Malka i Minimal Compact og Colin i bandet Wire, møttes de under innspillingen av Minimals “Raging Souls” (Colin som produsent). “Søt” musikk oppstod - blant svarte skinnkåper og enda sortere solbriller, og de giftet seg året etter. Klokka sa 1986 og det kokte i verdens undergrunn. Og her, i kryssilden kunst og pop, dynka i heftig eksistensialisme og radikale eksperiment bar veien videre sammen for denne diamant av en allianse: Egen label og tett samarbeid på kryss av prosjektene.
Wire. Minimal C. Glimrende soloplater. Immersion. Githead. Samarbeid med eminente navn som Tarwater, Laetitia Sadier (Stereolab), Tuxedomoon og så mange flere.
Vi kan rapportere om et fortsatt vitalt, skarpt og omsorgsfullt (!) kunstnerpar (tross sin etterhvert ganske voksne alder). Nå er det altså Immersion som gjelder, et duoprosjekt som etter starten på tidlig 90-tall ble tatt opp igjen i nyere tid, etter en lengre pause. Her kan du høre dem i classic Spigel/Newman-drakt, ispedd en fascinasjon for myk techno og landskapskraut, hvor budskapet om forsoning er sterkt nærværende.
Ja, vi trenger snakke mer om forsoning, i en stadig mer rabiat og kaotisk verden. Et omsorgsfølelse jeg kjenner både gjennom dem som mennesker og gjennom musikken. Vi er ufattelig takknemlige, stolte og glade for å ha dem som gjester i Møllebyen i Moss. Du er også varmt velkommen!
PS. Stor takk til vår felles gode venn Benjamin Sand som førte oss sammen, via hans og Malkas felles kjærlighet for lomo fotografi (kan sees på mye av Immersions album art)
PRESSESTOFF:
Immersion are Malka Spigel and Colin Newman best known for their work with Minimal Compact and Wire.
The project emerged in the early 1990s and has always prided itself on a diversity in approach and an ability to be both self-contained and a vehicle for collaboration. 1999’s Low Impact , 2018’s Sleepless & 2025’s WTF?? cover very different aesthetics.
Recent years have also seen Immersion collaborating with the likes of Tarwater, Laetitia Sadier, Ulrich Schnauss , Scanner, Thor Harris, Cubzoa & SUSS in their ongoing Nanocluster series of events & albums. The collaboration with SUSS took the form of a month long US tour in March / April 2025 as well as the album.
With their 2nd UK tour in as many years (in support of the album WTF??) Malka & Colin ended up playing more shows in 2025 than any previous year and to audiences of increasing size.
The couple also have a weekly music radio show called Swimming In Sound and play in the band Githead, alongside Robin Rimbaud (Scanner) & Max Franken.
Colin – facebook // instagram // bluesky
Malka – facebook // instagram // bluesky
Reviews of WTF??
Agile, reactive, expressive, they say it all MOJO
If you’re not, uh, hip to Immersion, you’re missing one of the great art rock bands of our time. Rock and roll Globe
There are labors of love, and then there’s Immersion. Active since 1994, Immersion are the brainchild of husband-and-wife duo Colin Newman (of Wire fame) and Malka Spigel (best known for her work in Minimal Compact). Born out of a shared affinity for techno, Immersion have evolved into different iterations and genres over the decades. It is an ever-revolving, ever-expanding project that has run the gamut from ambient to Kosmische to techno and everything in between. Pop Matters
Lyrically and sonically, WTF?? captures the surreal push-pull of 2025—apocalyptic dread on one side, the stubborn spark of human connection on the other. The record moves from pulsing, hypnotic instrumentals that feel like city lights blurring at midnight to vocal pieces that speak plainly to shared fears and fragile hopes. Mundane Mag
an album that should see Immersion step further out from the shadows of both their glorious pasts and forge a new frontier. Louder Than War
More music by partners in life and art! Electro duo Immersion makes music that’s easily embraced and speaks to the moment.… just what we need for another tough week on our own rock spinning around the sun. 5 Songs KCRW
Musically, the record is a delight. It’s underpinned by driving krauty beats from Holy Fuck, Savak and Lake Ruth drummer Matt Schulz and instrumentally tracks all ping like they’ve been pulled in really tight. The whole thing is “a response to where humanity finds itself in the second decade of the 21st century”. Where do we find ourselves? In a pickle. The record “reacts to not only that relentless rhetoric of these times, but also how we as humans should respond,” say the notes. “Music is the message, the medium, the massage and the moment.” Moonbuilding Weekly
Immersion consists of Wire’s Colin Newman, and his wife Malka Spigel (Minimal Compact), and WTF?? is their 5th. Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck) joins them on this one, and the trio have come up with an incredible album. This is electronic music combined with rock. The end result is their own style which does defy classification. Spill Magazine
WTF? is a real work of strength, togetherness and positivity and as such should be lapped up by all. Freq Mag