Category Archives: Italo
Pteez
At some point the Russian SynthWave scene is going to have to slow down for a bit and let the rest of the world catch up, this past year so many amazing acts have come out of Russia. Pteez is latest in this long line to mix ‘80’s soundtrack electronics with a touch of funky Nu-Disco.
All three of the tracks on Pteez SoundCloud display a skill for getting an Italo groove going and warping it a little for the dancefloor. ‘Stardust’ is one of my favourites, bright, sparkling synths dance over retro Italo basslines. But far from ridged, it’s got a late ‘80’s Electronic Soul swing that saw white guys dancing like fantastic idiots for the better part of the decade. ‘Soundwind’ is deeper, more traditional SynthWave, epic movie soundtrack stuff that thrives on huge retro chords and soaring leads that carry along in it’s story. ‘Trains In Colour’ had got an awesome B-Boy Electro flavour to it, a nice Electro Funk in it’s FM bassline. It’s not often you get to hear a proper meeting of B-Boy Electro and SynthWave and ‘Trains In Colour’ really nails it, with it’s twisted leads and synth toms its a rack after my own heart.
Check out more from Pteez on SoundCloud.
Chromatics’ ‘Lady Video
Chromatics’ new video, ‘Lady’ is all shiny nostalgic goodness.
Alberto Rossini directed the video for Johnny Jewel’s vintage SynthPop outfit and stuck with the vintage theme with grainly shot footage with a late ‘70’s feel.
‘Lady’ is taken from Chromatics’ forthcoming second Italians Do It Better album, ‘Kill For Love’.
Buy Chromatics’ music from:
Mental Minority
Mental Minority is, well, is a German SynthWave producer. That’s about all we know about him. But that’s a good thing, because there’s loads to talk about the music!
He’s recently dropped a new track ‘T.V. Outrun’ and an new EP ‘Moodshifter’. Both display his love of ‘80’s and Italo. ‘T.V. Outrun’ is a bouncy, swirling peice that mixes the Italo bassline with epic shifting pads and sparkling synth melodies. It;s a good introduction to Mental Minority’s sound. Emotive and involving synthesizer soundtracks. The ‘Moodshifter’ EP is free from his SoundCloud page and contains five tracks of electronic soundscapes and retro beats. The highlight being ‘Shifting the Decades’ an Italo journey that conjures visions of Tokyo skylines, robotic beats with the soul of the orient. The whole EP is definitely worth checking out.
♫ Mental Minority – T.V. Outrun
♫ Mental Minority – Shifting The Decades
Check out more from Mental Minority on SoundCloud.
Silenx’s new tune
Portuguese SynthWave producer Silenx’s new tune, ‘Space Love’ is an almost perfect slice of epic Nu-Italo.
There’s so much going on in this tune, it’s like a Russian doll, once you’ve absorbed one layer there is more to get out of it. Silenx is easily one of the best retro synth producers out there right now and ‘Space Love’ is a perfect example of why. It’s a deep , emotional groove that carries you along with it’s story, from the Italo bassline to the sweeping, involving pads the track has something to say. I can’t wait for a whole album of Silenx tunes!
Buy Silenx’s music from:
Lazerhawk’s ‘Visitors’ album
To say Lazerhawk’s second album, ‘Visitors’ had been long, and eagerly awaited is a bit of an understatement. For a while now the Austin based SynthWave wizard has been teasing us with EPs and tracks, hinting at what the full thirteen track galactic odyssey would hold. Well, the wait is over.
And ‘Visitors’ was worth the wait, it’s a retro synth soundtrack masterpiece, and one of those records that should be taken in as a whole, the overriding thematic structure of this collection of Sci-Fi instrumentals works as a definite narrative. A journey on a cosmic scale played out amongst the sweeping synths and Italo beats. I don’t usually like reviewing albums track-by-track, it makes for boring reading and is a bit lazy, but there are a few songs on ‘Visitors’ that i have to mention. The album kicks off with ‘Lazaerhawk’s Theme’. I can’t remember the last time I heard an album opener so perfectly chosen, the track both introduces you, in majestic fashion, and sets you up for the rest of the records. It’s a big, powerful opener with a sense of the ominous, which is just the right way to send the listener on their way through the album. This is a more mature album that Lazerhawk’s début, ‘Redline’, not only is the production stronger but the whole record feels more considered, this isn;’t just a collection of songs, Lazerhawk is trying to do something here. Of course, in amongst all this space age scoring there is still enough kick-ass Outrun Electro to keep you dancing. ‘Shoulder Of Orion’ is particularly full-on post-Italo SynthWave awesomeness, while ‘Disco Planet’ pays a visit to synthesizer Disco of the late ‘70’s and ‘Star Hustler’ is a pure Italo gold experience.. More than that though, ‘Visitors’ is about the story it has to tell, and what that conjures in the listeners imagination.
♫ Lazerhawk – Lazerhawk’s Theme
♫ Lazerhawk – Visitors
♫ Lazerhawk – Shoulder Of Orion
♫ Lazerhawk – Beyond The Infinite Void
♫ Lazerhawk – Star Hustler
‘Visitors’ is out now on Rosso Corsa Records.
Buy Lazerhawk’s music from:
Topless’ EP
A few months back we introduced you to Dutch funky ElectroPop duo Topless and their track ‘Say you Love Me’, and awesome slice of with a nice ‘80’s electronic Soul feel to it.
The track is now getting a proper release as part of the ‘Topless EP’, sitting it’s retro dance alongside tracks like ‘Saint Tropez’, a track that mixes the bands Italo core with a groovy ‘80’s Pop feel that starts to sound uncannily like Curiosity Killed the Cat meeting Heaven 17. ‘Vamos A Bailar’ is more pure Italo, in face it’s the kind of pure vintage sounding Italo that we haven’t heard the likes of since Heartbreak. This kind of old school DiscoPop we could do with a lot more of in the world. ‘We Both Know’ dials down the tempo a bit for a slick and soulful electronic ballad, before ending the EP on a high energy ‘Trouble Girl’. The whole EP is perfect material for Italo fans looking for something fresh or retro ElectroPop fans.
♫ Topless – Saint Tropez
♫ Topless – Vamos A Bailar
♫ Topless – We Both Know
The ‘Topless EP’ get it’s new release on Instant Replay Silk soon.
Buy Topless’ music from:
Max Action
Max Action. You can only really say it in a deep, movie trailer narration, voice, with a pause in between. Max. Action. Max Action is the chosen moniker of , well, who know? Someone Canadian. They don’t write bios apparently, or attempt to promote themselves much at all. What they do do however, is write epic SynthWave tunes. So let’s focus on that for the time being.
‘Terminal Crazy’ is Max Action’s latest song, or should we call it a soundtrack, is over ten minutes long. This kind of length gives Max room to tell a musical narrative with what he’s doing and really create a mood. It’s a synthesized Sci-Fi odyssey combining layers of intense machine riffs with lush pads robotic melodies. The score to a retro futuristic galactic war, ‘Terminal crazy’ is as exciting and involving as the imaginary movie it sets the tone for. While you’re hear, check out his reMix of Fear Of Tigers’ ‘the Adventures Of Pippi Longstrump’, which gives the track a gritty, ‘80’s feel with some surprisingly funky percussion.
♫ Fear Of Tigers – The Adventures Of Pippi Longstrump (Max Action Rmx)
Check out more from Max Action on SoundCloud.
Chrome Canyon’s new EP
France’s On The Fruit Records are killin’ it right now. They are pumping out quality release after release and the next up is no exception. Released today is the new EP from Brooklyn based futurist Chrome Canyon.
The ‘Body Music’ EP is space-age retro synth Funk paradise. The EP is summed up in the lead track ‘Computers Of Love’. What’s not to like in this track? It’s got everything you’d want from cosmic analog Disco. Funky slap bass, huge Sci-Fi synths, vocoded vocals and as the various melodies spin out into the galaxy you get the feeling that there is a not only pretty impressive musicality behind the tracks, but also a quirky sense of humour. When the rockin’ Funk solo kicks in you know you’re in the right place. the track is reMixed by Melee Beats, and a man of consistent quality, Douze. Douze brings this nostalgia jam into the 21st century and adds a little French Touch to the mix, in a big way. The EP’s other original ‘Body Music’ is more of a brooding, ‘80’s soundtracky, peice. Like a meeting of Vangelis and Kraftwerk it’s the musical narrative of a robotic call to arms and could have featured on the best of early ‘80’s Sci-Fi flicks. Heroismo and Stavarsky both take a crack at reMixing ‘Body Music’, with the latter delivering a dark post-Italo dark future mix. If the original is the Sci-Fi movies theme, then Starvasky provides the backing for when adversity strikes. Great moody SynthWave. If you like vintage synth music and old school Italo and Disco beats, then this release’ll be something special for you.
♫ Chrome Canyon – Computers Of Love (Original Mix)
♫ Chrome Canyon – Computers Of Love (Douze reMix)
♫ Chrome Canyon – Body Music (Original Mix)
♫ Chrome Canyon – Body Music (Stavarsky reMix)
Chrome Canyon’s ‘Body Music’ EP is out now.
Buy Chrome Canyon’s music from:
Awkoder reMixes Edgework
Released yesterday was the new single from French electronic act Edgework. the reMix package contains this gem from the awesome SynthWaver Awkoder.
So light and fluffy is Awkoder’s reMix, that’s it’s practically ElectroPop. There’s actually quite a strong strain of New Order DNA running through this track. The bassline, the bright shiny synths, the arrangement, all capture something of New Order in the early ‘80’s, bits of ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Shellshock’ spring to mind. This, of course, is all injected with Awkoder’s Nu-Italo synthesizer skills and results in a nice slice of retro synth nostalgia.
♫ Edgework – Night Mechanics (Awkoder reMix)
‘Night Mechanics’ is out now on Plastic Toy Records.
Buy Edgework’s music from:
Giorgio Moroder’s ‘E=mc²’, a whole bunch of reMixes!
‘E=mc²’ is my favourite Giorgio Moroder track, so it was with great interest that I approached Sweedish Disco label MB Disco’s new collection of reMixes of the track. They released a ton of reMixes in the package and invited some legendary figures in Italo and Cosmic Disco to take part.
To run down some of the stand out versions let’s start with L.I.S., who turn in a deep analog Disco track, all rounded bouncy bass and sparse arpeggios. using similar instrumentation to Moroder let’s L.I.S capture a similar mood but with a much updated sound. Gomma’s Rodion drops a RoboDisco version of the track next which is almost exactly what I had in my head that this release would contain before I listened to it. Frantic, slightly retro, synthetic Disco that layers upon the original, making it more complex and full with an Italo twang. Speaking of Italo, legends of the genre Klein & MBO deliver an unsurprisingly ‘80’s mix, raw 909 beats and Italo basslines are in order here that stays true enough to the original but adds an eighties euro dancefloor feel that could have easily seen it as a 12” release from the early ‘80’s. The release is also graced by Electro pioneer Alexander Robotnick who’s dark vocoding and Kraftwerk-on-steroids electronics create a completely different track, more of a homage to Moroder. Alongside theses tracks, you’ll find on the record work from Dionigi, I-Robots and Daniele Baldelli.
♫ Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (L.I.S. Rework)
♫ Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (Rodion Gran Manigheo reMix)
♫ Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (No More Klein & MBO reMix)
♫ Giorgio Moroder – E=mc² (Alexander Robotnick reMix)
‘E=mc² – The Italian Connection’ reMix collection is out now.
Buy Giorgio Moroder’s music from:
