Keenhouse’s ‘Where I Belong’

Keenhouse

Keenhouse has a new album on the way! Just take my word for it, this is pretty exciting news. Saying Keenhouse is one of the most musically gifted members of the Binary collective feels mean on the rest of them, we’re not trying to say they are less able, there is some amazing musical talent amongst the LA crew, but Keenhouse is just a wizard in front of a keyboard.

Where I Belong is the first single from the LP, a dreamy electronic trip with an almost psychedelic feel. it’s a track that really feels like the start of something special. we haven’t heard the album yet, but Where I Belong gives us the impression that the full length record will be more of a musical journey, each track flowing into the last, than a collection of club tunes. So, if this tune starts us off on out trek toward the album, it’s a gently start. Eastern percussion and smooth jazzy electric piano intertwine with swirling synths and a distant vocal as the track builds up to a danceflor synthesizer wig-out. If the album plays out like we think it will (read: amazing), it almost seems a shame to listen to the track outside of context, but it;s still the perfect tune for hot, lazy day.

Keenhouse – Where I Belong

Keenhouse’s Four Dreams album is released 4th September on Binary.

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Lueur Verte reMixes Arcade High

arcade-high

The Maddie Ardillo featuring Crush was one of the highlights of Pittsburgh’s SynthWave export Arcade High’s recent album The Art Of Youth. As seeing as how it’s was an all round excellent album that’s really saying something. So good was it that French retro Electro master Lueur Verte couldn’t keep his hands off it and delivers a stunning, hazy, rework of the tune.

Lueur Verte brings all his skills to the table here, crafting a delicious dream of a track. Sweet vintage synth lines crash against the Italo beats like waves of nostalgia. Each wash conjuring the mood of decades gone by. The synths sparkle, the bassline bounces along, the chords are rich and emotive, Lueur Verte plays to his strengths and works the vocal to bring out a new kind of passion in the performance. Uplifting and euphoric. There are some who are right at the top of the 80’s synth scene, Lueur Verte is definitely one.

Arcade High (Feat. Maddie Ardillo) – Crush (Lueur Verte reMix)

Arcade High’s The Art Of Youth is out now.

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Evokateur’s ‘Chime Hours’ EP

Evokateur

London gloomy ElectroPop duo Evokateur are about to release their new EP. Chime Hours is the follow up to the awesome Crow’s Wedding record. The new release joins the dots between Evokateur’s Gothy beginnings and their more Poppy recent output. Not only that, but there is a reMix by my friend and yours, the one and only, Mr. Fear Of Tigers.

Chime Hours kicks off with 1684, a swirling, lush tune that neatly sits in a place between robotic and ethereal. Hector laying down his usual beats, arpeggios and Industrial flourishes whist Sarah delivers an dramatic, gothic vocal. this opening track is actually pretty straight forward ElectroGoth, but Post, which follows, is a track with a lot more depth, both musically and vocally. There’s less pomp and more feeling in the vocal in Post, and the music is more surprising, more intelligent. The arrangement is actually quite Rocky, but the eclectic use of sounds and a quiet authenticity in Sara’s voice really lift this tune. White Horses, with all it’s EBM distortion and Glitchy, hides a powerful song underneath it’s Numanoid sheen. An infectious stom underpinning a really catchy tune. The cinematic lament of How Long plays out the EP, leaving room only for Fear Of Tigers’ reMix of White Horses. Is there anything Ben has touched that didn’t turn to gold? This time the Fear Of Tigers treat comes in the form of a Indie tinged Dreamwave tune that digs the song out of White Horses and lets it find it’s feet. Lifted by Fear Of Tigers rich layers of synth nostalgia the vocals are lifted to a whole new place. Ending the EP on a euphoric high. We kinda’ get the feeling that, right now, Evokateur is in danger of going from something quite special, to being another ElectroGoth band. And that’ll probably be the last we hear from them. It hasn’t quite happened yet, Chime Hours is a beautiful, immersive listening experience, and one we would recommend, but the warning signs are there. We have out fingers crossed that that doesn’t happen.

♫ Evokateur – White Horses

♫ Evokateur – White Horses (Fear Of Tigers Rmx)

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Poolside’s new single

Poolside

The sun is shining, it’s almost the weekend, what better time for LA Indie-Disco dup Poolside to drop a new single. In keeping with the good summer vibes, Scion Audio/Visual are selling the single for the price on an email address. That’s essentially a short run of alphanumeric characters and an ‘@’ symbol, swiftly typed in using your fingers for around 10 seconds, in exchange for two blissful Disco jams that someone worked in a studio for weeks on. Now there’s a bargain!

Only Everything is pure beach party gold. Laid back and loaded with Funk, it’s a track that will hypnotize you with it’s walking bassline. A head nodding instruction that underpins some smooth piano and lazy, hazy vocals that will carry you away like a gently wave. These guys aren’t called Poolside for nothing! The B-side, Take A Chance, adds a ‘70’s Disco vibe and some LFO’d vocoder to the mix to take their ‘daytime Disco’ grooving into the night time. Filip Nikolic & Jeffery Paradise said this about their music “We’re not saying you HAVE to be near a pool to appreciate it, but the glimmering slow-paced daytime disco marries well with leaning back in your chaise to watch others dance in or nearby water. Poolside sounds exactly like what every day would be like in a perfect world; long, warm, lazy and slightly intoxicating.”. Mission definitely accomplished we say.

♫ Poolside – Only Everything

♫ Poolside – Take A Chance

You can download the new single in exchange for an email address here.

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Dublin Aunts’ ‘Heartbreak Reputation’ reMixes

dublin-aunts

So, Australian Disco outfit Dublin Aunts début release, Heartbreak Reputation, caused a bit of a stir when it was released last month. it was slick, funky and catchy as hell and destined to rock discerning dancefloors all summer. But what happens if you’re providing a remix for the track but miss the deadline? What to do? What to do?

Well, if you’re Dublin Aunts you release the tardy remixes as a free EP! Some things just need to see the light of day. Up first is Liaison with the smoothest of smooth groves. Pure laid back summery goodness coasting along on squelchy synth bass and wicked little Disco licks. The king of the edit Late Night Tuff Guy brings his sweet Disco sound to the track, real late ‘70’s stuff. LNFG works his magic and turns in a classic vintage Disco hit. AB/TC’s take on the tune takes things to a deep place. A dubby take on Disco that mixes licks with low basses and echoing swirls. All in all not bad in exchange for a Facebook like.

♫ Dublin Aunts – Heartbreak Reputation (Liaison Version)

♫ Dublin Aunts – Heartbreak Reputation (LNTG Found A Groove Mix)

♫ Dublin Aunts – Heartbreak Reputation (AB/TC reMix)

You can download the EP here.

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Moon Boots’ ‘Sugar’

Moon Boots

American producer Moon Boots is seriously cementing his reputation as one of the best Nu-Disco producers working today. Especially in the last few months, he;s been wowing us time and time again with his slick retro Disco track and reMixes . His latest track, Sugar, does noting but add to that rep and débuts itself as the perfect hot weather soundtrack.

Riffing off Janet Jackson’s If,  you could go so far as to say Sugar is an extreme reMix (as in it’s a completely new tune with Jackson’s vocals). Moon Boots really plays to his strengths here, that late ‘80’s funky, synth R&B flavour, that laid back LA beach party Disco vibes, and hint of Tropical just to make it even more feel good and a slick , engaging arrangement. The real ride here, though, lies in the retro Funk bassline and big ‘80’s synth stabs. Moon Boots has give us another, perfect, summer tune and hopefully this being released by French Express means an EP is on the way.

Moon Boots – Sugar

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Jordan F’s ‘Summers Of Tomorrow’ redux

Jordan F

Australia’s finest SynthWave export Jordan F originally released the Summers Of Tomorrow EP last year. It was kinda’ just before the excursion with his alter-ego Countach. Now he’s fully back in Jordan F mode he’s revisited the EP, it’s been refreshed, remastered and has a little track list tweak. The all-new Summers Of Tomorrow EP is heading your way right now.

Beginnings kicks of the EP, and the differences are readily apparent. This version is a lot slicker. Gone is the abrasive bass sound, replaced by a more atmospheric tone, and the whole production is a lot more well rounded. Everything sits together a lot nicer, for an instrumental, soundtrack peice such as this it makes all the difference. Whilst the original has an Italo rawness, these track sound a lot more mature. Abandoned Streets is abandoned in favour of it’s Crime In Fourth Sector counterpart, and again, the remastering is a revelation. Softening the gritty synth work allows the rhythm a section to carry the song a lot more fluidly. The neon drenched dystopia theme works it way into the track a lot better with this version, the powerdrive soundtrack Electro feeling more comfortable with itself. Dream Machine, the EP’s new addition, was obviously written with unicorns in mind, a pulsing electronic haze that Vangelis would have been proud of. Renegade probably benefits the most from the reworking, the whole track working as a rich emotive Italo stomper much better with everything lying tighter in the mix. The EP’s title track, a outro, Summers Of Tomorrow, is here fully allowed to realise it’s epic, Sci-Fi, majesty without the drums overbearing. Actually, it’s the drums where you hear the biggest difference in this remastering, they don’t dominate the tracks anymore, they become part of them. Jordan F is easily in the top five musicians making SynthWave right now, without a doubt, but this new found maturity to his productions will push him even higher. There may be an album coming soon, and that’s exciting as hell.

♫ Jordan F – Crime In Fourth Sector

♫ Jordan F – Dream Machine

♫ Jordan F – Renegade

Summers Of Tomorrow is available right now, for free, at Jordan F’s Bandcamp.

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Young Digerati’s ‘Endless Bummer reMixed’

Young Digerati

Bay Area Indie-ElectroPop outfit Young Digerati’s recent ‘Endless Bummer EP was a skilful mix of jangly Indie and retro ElectroPop. A lot more guitary than their previous output, something that normally has us on the fence, the EP did contain some catchy tunes. Good news then that some of the finest SynthWave reMix talent has come along to give those tunes a good old synth workout. Smooth grooves incoming.

The whole EP, all five tracks, are all pretty superb, ranging from Electro-House, to Italo to Dreamwave, but out picks would be the work contributed by Silenx, 80s Stallone and Sex By Surprise. Silenx wow us one again with his super slick production on his reMix of Peak Performance. Injecting a little more funk into his sound than usual, Joel goes full on Cosmic Disco. Adding the core of the last couple of years of some of the best SynthWave around, he adds some funky slap bass and Moog-esque stabs, to a truly galactic Funk experience. Also taking on Peak Performance, 80s Stallone hits the ground running with his 80’s sound, immediately Italo, from the arpeggiated bassline to the EuroPop riff, before raising the track up with some big retro chords. The vocal is used sparsely in 80’s Stallone’s take, but Chris Stallone’s melodies more than make up for it. The EP rounds off with SxS’s robotic Electro take on Young Digetati’s biggest tune to date, The Dauphin. Normally associated with a laid back beach party vibe, SxS turn the track into an Electro-House anthem, packed with nervous energy and bright, intertwining, synth lines. Did we mention the EP is free, that’s five top quality tunes for no money whatsoever. Bargain!

Young Digerati – Peak Performance (Silenx reMix)

Young Digerati – Peak Performance (80s Stallone reMix)

Young Digerati – The Dauphin (Sex By Surprise reMix)

You can pick up Young Digerati’s Endless Bummer reMixed Ep for free here.

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Leisure Council reMixes Touch Tone

touch-tone11

The reMixes of Touch Tone’s anthemic Home Away From Home keep coming. There’s just something about that vocal, something about the groove of the track, that had made it one of the few track we haven’t got bored with multiple reMixes of. I can see why people want to reMix it, it’s a huge tune. Next up to the plate is our boys Leisure Council, so you know this is going to be special.

And special it definitely is. Can you say ‘Electro Boogie’? Leisure Council’s reMix is pure synthetic Funk, sprinkled with ‘80’s magic and sent through a wormhole from 1985. From he moment the beat kicks in, you are treated to the kind of post, B-Boy Electro, electronic R&B groove that was so prevalent in the mid-‘80’s. Funky, and slightly mechanized, like a breakdancing robot. Which is layered with rich, buzzing, synth pads, ringing chords and twisting lead lines. Vocoding Andrew’s vocals, subtly, just adds to the slightly otherworldly vibe and lets this space boogie soar. Leisure Council are killing it once again. Whether in Ride The Universe, or as a trio, these guys just know groove.

Touch Tone – Home Away From Home (Leisure Council reMix)

Touch Tone’s ‘Home Away From Home’ is out now on Binary.

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Final DJs’ ‘Just Be Free’

Final DJs

So, this weekend marks the *coughiest* *cough* birthday of Mr. Basti from Germany’s finest SynthWave duo Final DJs. These guys have come so far in the past two years, we’ve been following them since their first productions to where they are now, their Gossip Country EP was massive and generally everything the release is pretty killer.

In celebration of Basti’s birthday, Final DJs have dropped a new tune, and if, like us, you have a soft spot for Michael McDonald’s Sweet Freedom then you’re going to love this. Just Be Free is a big French Touch tune, thick with groove. Heavy with retro synths and warm filtering, this is a tune in the mould of the classics of French House. The perfect synthetic Disco to move dancefloors late into the night and Michael McDonald’s smooth-as-silk vocal is just the icing on the cake, the birthday cake if you will. We suggest you join us in wishing Basti a happy birthday and hoping he has an awesome weekend.

Final DJs – Just Be Free

Final DJs’ Gossip Country out now..

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