The last single before La Mordre, mastered by Mark Pistel of Meat Beat Manifesto and Consolidated

SINE, the project of Austin, Texas-based drummer and multi-instrumentalist Rona Rougeheart, has released the single Cruel through Metropolis Records on 3rd April 2026. The track is the second self-produced song Rougeheart has put out this year, following Blood + Wine, which came out on 27th February.

Title: Cruel
Artist: SINE
Release Date: 2026-04-03
Genres: Darkwave, EBM, Electronica, Industrial Music
Label: Metropolis Records
Description: SINE releases Cruel on Metropolis Records, the final single before the La Mordre album, due 22nd May 2026. Mastered by Mark Pistel.

Cruel is the last single to precede La Mordre, a full-length album due on 22nd May via Metropolis in digital, CD and vinyl formats. La Mordre also includes the previously released Trauma Bondage, Succumb To Me and Blood + Wine, and is the first SINE album since the project’s signing to Metropolis in 2024.

Mastering was handled by Mark Pistel, a San Francisco-based producer and engineer who co-founded Consolidated in 1988 and later joined Jack Dangers in Meat Beat Manifesto, contributing to albums including Actual Sounds + Voices, RUOK? and At The Center. Pistel has also co-produced Hercules and Love Affair’s Blue Songs and worked with Grace Jones, Therapy? and Michael Franti’s Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.

Rougeheart has described the song as being about people who deliberately choose cruelty, noting the contrast between the lyrical content, which moves between sarcasm and sincerity, and the upbeat, club-oriented production. The track stays within the territory Rougeheart calls “electronic boom,” a combination of dance beats, sub-bass, industrial textures and layered synths that has defined SINE’s output across several releases.

Rona Rougeheart was born in New York to a Taiwanese mother and Irish father and grew up as a military child, living across the United States and in Okinawa, Japan. Her father, a musician, taught her keyboards and guitar; she later took up drums on her own and played in several Austin bands before launching SINE in 2016. The debut album INSOMNIÆ came out in January 2019, followed by the Injected collection later that year. In 2021, the compilation Desire, Denial and Paramania was released through Austin label eMERGENCY heARTS, with contributions from Curse Mackey (Pigface, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult), Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails, 3Teeth) and Chris Connelly (Pigface, Revolting Cocks, Fini Tribe- read our interview with Chris Connelly on Fini Tribe). The Mantis EP series followed in 2022, along with the Until (Clan of Xymox Remix) single; the Luxuria EP appeared in early 2024 on Re:Mission Entertainment/eMERGENCY heARTS, featuring production by Claus Larsen of Leæther Strip and a remix by Xiu Xiu (read our interview with Jamie Stewarts). In 2019, Rougeheart opened for Bauhaus in Orlando, which led to her involvement in Shiva Saves, the ongoing project led by Bauhaus bassist David J (read our interview with David J), which also includes Curse Mackey and a rotating cast featuring Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Other collaborators include Adrian Sherwood, Andee Blacksugar (a guitarist with KMFDM -read our interview with KMFDM– since 2017 and a touring member of Blondie) and the late Mark Stewart of The Pop Group. Rougeheart holds endorsement deals with Gretsch Drums, Gibraltar Hardware and Roland. Through 2025, SINE toured the US with Clan of Xymox, PIG and Nitzer Ebb.

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