Apr 20 2015

[Audio] FM-84’s ‘Neon Sunrise’

We’ve been sent a few tracks by FM-84 recently that have quite impressed up (not enough time in the day to write about everything though); but this new one, Neon Sunrise, is his best to date. FM-84 is a Scot by the name of Colin Bennett who currently resides in San Francisco where he turned his production attention to SynthWave late last year. His tunes have been getting steadily better, to the point where Neon Sunrise had us hooked from the first beat.

The reason being that this beat kicks. A powerful mixture of 80s Pop and B-Boy beats provides a rock solid backing for waves of densely layered synth work. Awash with thick pads and starlight melodies, Neon Sunrise serves up a plethora of uplifting and euphoric retro sounds. If this doesn’t put a nostalgic smile on your face you may be a little wrong inside. You might want to see someone about that. Meanwhile, us right thinking people will be eagerly awaiting the next tune from FM-84.

♫ FM-84 – Neon Sunrise

FM-84’s Neon Sunrise is out now

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Apr 17 2015

[Audio] Maethelvin’s ‘Lost In Big City’

Complete surprise! Out of nowhere, pioneer of the Dreamwave and SynthWave sound, and Valerie collective O.G., Maethelvin has released an album! Save for a solitary track in 2013 we though we’d heard the last from one of our favourite artists of the time back in 2012. Maethelvin was a staple of the Valerie crew since the beginning, back in 2007 but never properly released anything other than a limited edition 7” with Stephen Falken. His new record is called CS005, being part of Valerie’s Composer series and is out this week. The album pretty much collects all his original tunes, some previously hard to find, in one place; we’re so excited to be listening to a full length record from this guy.

Lost In A Big City originally appeared on the absolute legendary classic compilation album Valerie And Friends back in 2009. Quintessentially Dreamwave, this is the prefect example of the sound that stared it all. Punchy beats and gritty, cinematic apreggios drive this powerhouse of a track underneath catchy little Synth Funk melodies. Walking the line between abrasive, high-octane Electro and Disco-fuelled SynthPop, Lost In Big City exemplifies Maethelvin’s, and the original SynthWave, sound

♫ Maethelvin – Lost In Big City

Maethelvin’s CS005 is out now.

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Apr 17 2015

[Audio] Crystal Castles’ ‘Frail’

What do Crystal Castles sound like without Alice Glass? Well, it looks like were about to find out. Really, we weren’t sure Crystal Castles was even still a thing, but the remaining member, Ethan Kath, has just uploaded a brand new tune, with vocals by someone called Edith, titled Frail. The accompanying blub feels a tad bitchy: “I wish my former vocalist the best of luck in her future endeavours. I think it can be empowering for her to be in charge of her own project. It should be rewarding for her considering she didn’t appear on Crystal Castles’ best known songs. (She’s not on “Untrust Us”. “Not In Love”, “Vanished”, “Crimewave”, “Vietnam”, “Magic Spells”, “Knights”, “Air War”, “Leni”, “Lovers Who Uncover”, “Violent Youth”, “Reckless”, “Year of Silence”, “Intimate”, “1991”, “Good Time”, “Violent Dreams”, etc.). People often gave her credit for my lyrics and that was fine, I didn’t care.”. Honestly, we didn’t know she wasn’t on so many of CC’s hits, but she was still the front-person of the band; the bands energy and face. We guess we’ll just have to see where things progress to from here.

Frail does sound sounds pretty Crystal Castles-y. I don’t know why we might have expected it to sound otherwise. The rousing and evocative rave synths are in place, alongside the pounding drums and heavily modulated vocals. It has the driving energy of the best of Crystal Castles. The beats sound a little disjointed, but that grows on you. It’s a solid Crystal Castles tune, but we can’t help feeling that Alice’s departure might have been a good point to try something different. nonetheless, it;s nice to have a new CC tune on the playlist.

♫ Crystal Castles – Frail

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Apr 16 2015

[Audio] Monsieur Adi’s ‘Runaway’

Here’s the latest tune from our favourite French renaissance man, Monsieur Adi. It’s actually been a while since we’ve heard a new original tune from Adi, but then again he’s spends his days reMixing and producing some massive starts these days so we’ll let him off. For his new song he’s raining in the high-octane, cinematic Electro for an laid back, emotional groover; Runaway.

Vocoder passion and thick heavy synths permeate every second of Runaway. The drums are a bit of a departure for Adi, verging into neo-Madeon drum territory, as the man heaps on piles of rich and emotive keys, stack deep but exquisitely mixed so each layer delivers it’s resonant punch. Add to that a heartfelt vocoder performance, like a robotic lament, and you have some powerful electronics right here.

♫ Monsieur Adi – Runaway

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Apr 15 2015

[Audio] Sunrise HWY’s ‘Sunrise Highway’ EP reMixed by Tiger & Woods and Tuff City Kids

Tensnake’s vinyl leaning True Romance is one of our favourite labels right now. We’re avid collectors of their 12”s, each one an analog Disco Boogie gem. One such gem was the laid back retro Disco sounds of New York trio Tim Wagner, Nick Chacona and Amy Douglas, A.K.A. Sunrise Highway,’s self-titled début EP, fist seen in May last year. Now calling themselves Sunrise HWY (presumably for legal reasons) they are revisiting the slick release with an accompanying reMix package that sees Tiger & Woods and Tuff City Kids take on some of the EP’s sweetest tunes.

We weren’t able to pick our favourite of the reMixes, so here’s three for you to wrap your listening gear around. the formidable Larry Tiger & David Woods work their analog Disco magic on Some Kinda’ Fool, sounding not unlike a track from Tensnake’s own Glow, the track liberally spreads a pumping synth bassline over cowbell led Disco beats and heavily filtered snatches of the original’s groove. Germany’s Tuff City Kids choose to tackle two of the EP’s tunes; their version of Never Enough is an 808 heavy slice of synthetic House that pairs robotic Electro sounds with spine tingling piano House that works perfectly with Amy’s big diva vocals. Compass Point emerges from Tuff City Kids grasp with a Euro Disco feel, loaded with warm machine beats and spacey keys to compliment the track wicked Disco lick. The whole release is a joyous excursion into synthesizer Disco, B-Boy beats, summertime vibes and pure Boogie brilliance. We can’t wait to get our hands on the black plastic.

♫ Sunrise HWY – Some Kinda’ Fool (Tiger & Woods reMix)

♫ Sunrise HWY – Never Enough (Tuff City Kids reMix)

♫ Sunrise HWY – Compass Point (Tuff City Kids Nassau Mix)

Sunrise HWY’s Sunrise Highway reMixes drops 20th April on 12” and Digital via True Romance.

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Apr 15 2015

[Audio] Leitbur’s ‘Strange In L.A.’

There a new release forthcoming from LA SynthPop dreamers Leitbur. The EP, titled, The Moment That I Knew You drops at the end of this month; ahead of which you can check out the lead track from the release. it’s a majestic SynthPop epic called Strange In L.A. a nostalgia laden ode to their home city. Sit back for the sweeping mood.

Opening with a classic SynthWave sound, the song soon elevates itself beyond retro pastiche with a war and heartfelt song and a grove that juggled powerhouse ElectroPop for B-boy beats and Sci-Fi synths. Leitbur are no stranger to soaring keys, and in this case the chorus delivers a stratospheric lead paired with catchy vocals. A song like this deserves a suitably epic finale and Leitbur deliver that in heaps. We’d love to catch this one live.

♫ Leitbur – Strange In L.A.

Leitbur’s The Moment That I Knew You EP is released 21st April.

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Apr 14 2015

[Audio] Keljet & Holychild’s ‘What’s Your Sign?’

Dutch Disco duo Keljet have just announced their forthcoming new EP. This one goes under the moniker of Transatlantic and features four collaborations with American artists lending their vocals to Keljet’s buoyant beats. The first track to break ground from the release is What’s Your Sign?, this one sees the Dutchmen teaming up with LA Brat-Poppers Holychild. Check it out.

What’s Your Sign? is a bouncy and carefree slab of bass pounding DiscoPop. An elastic four minutes summertime vibes from the thick, rubbery, bassline to the starlight synths, this one is all about playful vibes and shades-on sunshine grooves. Holychild’s Liz serves up a catchy-as-hell vocal performance that’ll have you unconsciously singing along after the first listen. There’s just nothing to dislike here, Keljet are bringing the warm feelings with What’s Your Sign?.

♫ Keljet (Feat. Holychild) – What’s Your Sign?

Keljet’s Transatlantic EP is released 11th May.

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Apr 14 2015

[Audio] KLOË’s ‘Feel’

Eighteen year old Glaswegian singer KLOË has offered up her second slice of moody ElectroPop in the form of Feel. The track follows on from her critically acclaimed and much-hyped début track Grip and once again sees her teaming up with fellow Scot Prides’ Lewis Gardiner on production duties. Both track, Grip and Feel mark KLOË as one to watch in 2016 and 16. With confident débuts like this she’s bound to garner a lot of attention.

Her sophomore track is a moody and sumptuous SynthPop epic. R&B undertones dictate the track swing while Gardiner serves up a symphony of lush synths and bombastic stings. KLOË’s voice sounds older than her years and she delivers a passionate performance and a huge range. Pluming synth and grandiose, soulful, vocals; what more can you ask for?

♫ KLOË – Feel

Check out more from KLOË on SoundCloud.

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Apr 13 2015

[Audio] Arches’ ‘New Love’

Dancefloor powerhouse group Arches (Seba Vandevoorde A.K.A. Moonlight Matters and Jochen from Sound Of Stereo) have teamed up with R&B singer Karen Harding for their latest single. It’s released soon via Potion, The Magician’s record label, and follows on from late-2014’s There’s A Place. This storming slice of soulful House is called New Love.

Skippy Garage beats feed through this exuberant slab of contemporary HousePop. Revelling in the kind of deep, subby, bass you would normally associate with UK output, the Arches Duo deliver a warm summertime jam that pairs resounding piano with the big and booming low end. Harding’s huge vocal delivery, peppered with a Pop twang, keeps the energy of the track at a constant high. This one is a surefire summer hit.

♫ Arches (Feat. Karen Harding) – New Love (Original Mix)

Arches’ New Love is out soon.

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Apr 13 2015

[Audio] Vanbot’s ‘Seven’

The amazing Vanbot is back with another new track, which can only mean that the second album, Perfect Storm, is drawing closer. She’s one of our favourite Scandinavian synth stars and we’ve been holding on for the follow up to her self-titled 2011 début for ages. The new single is called Seven, which follows Trooper from earlier this year, both of which have us gagging to wrap our ears around the new full-length release. Check it out.

Blissful and booming, Seven is a near-perfect slice of ScaniPop. Washing over an resounding sub-heavy beat comes an symphony of piercing synths and droning tones to orchestrate for Vanbot’s heartfelt vocals. All elements of the best ice Scandinavian SynthPop, but Vanbot’s powerful, but times vulnerable, vocals warm things up a bit. Catchy, yet slightly left-field, this is how ElectroPop should be done.