Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
‘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 release the new Forbidden EP 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 Barret. The male vocals are more present in this version, and there is a pre-chorus that is absent in the Shadow Mix.”
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.
LINKS:
Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
VIDEO LINKS:
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Forbidden’: youtube.com/watch?v=1gyE2D5KTBM
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Forbidden: Shadow Mix’: youtube.com/watch?v=I41dpb1TIRo
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Nigrum Viduam’ (2024): youtube.com/watch?v=OnP7QDZnljg
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Morphine’ (2022): youtube.com/watch?v=4-R5oVFbnXU
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Catharsis’ (2022): youtube.com/watch?v=TUn38jjeu8U
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Sexsomnia’ (2022): youtube.com/watch?v=4r7iaQRDoBA
‘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 release the new Forbidden EP 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 Barret. The male vocals are more present in this version, and there is a pre-chorus that is absent in the Shadow Mix.”
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.
LINKS:
Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
VIDEO LINKS:
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Forbidden’: youtube.com/watch?v=1gyE2D5KTBM
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Forbidden: Shadow Mix’: youtube.com/watch?v=I41dpb1TIRo
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Nigrum Viduam’ (2024): youtube.com/watch?v=OnP7QDZnljg
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Morphine’ (2022): youtube.com/watch?v=4-R5oVFbnXU
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Catharsis’ (2022): youtube.com/watch?v=TUn38jjeu8U
SEXSOMNIA – ‘Sexsomnia’ (2022): youtube.com/watch?v=4r7iaQRDoBA
