Sep 5 2012

Keenhouse’s new album

Ken Rangkuty has long been one of the most interesting, and talented artists working in Dreamwave/Nu-Disco. In fact, he’s been a favourite of ours for so long it’s hard to believe that Four Dreams, released this week, is only his second album. As Keenhouse, ken has been a pioneer in the melodic retro synth field, first coming to our attention back when he was championed by the Valerie Collective and was very much part of putting Dreamwave together, both as a musician and as a part of the Binary stable. His music keeps evolving, more so than many of his contemporaries, and this new album, inspired by Keenhouse’s worldwide travels, encompasses all his myriad influences.

Kicking off with the stabbing chill HousePop of Lost In the Night the album, you immediately notice the wild variety of musical cultures present on this record. East Asian instrumentation, in particular, get’s readily worked into Keenhouse’s jazzy synth dreams. Most evident on Echoplants and Taura. As we predicted in July, the album flows from one track to the other and on the whole is really a concept album, a music journey to represent Keenhouse’s travels and listening to the album as a whole (the only way it should be heard) you really feel the mood shift as if moving from place to place. Where I Belong, the albums preview track is one of the records highlights, an upbeat, spacey tune that is just one part of the whole experience. Ken’s gentle, hushed vocals are the prefect compliment for many of the tracks on this album, such as Twilight Bridge, an energetic Synth Funk workout which seems to serve as a bridge, hurrying the listener from one section of the record to the next. In fact, it does feel like this album is broken into chapters, each part of the story featuring quieter moments and moments of grandeur. Diary 11 is one of those majestic moments, powerfully combining ominous chords with uplifting piano and and a soaring synth lead. There’s also time, such as the experimental Lounge Jazz of Patchworld, where Ken indulges himself and just had fun with things. Things get a little more frantic toward the end of the record, culminating in the hypnotic synth House groove of Wet Earth, before Ken signs off with The Lullaby Of Keenhouse, a soothing piano track that is a final testament to Kens musicianship. While all this may sound a little ambient, don’t get us wrong there are many club tunes on Four Dreams, such as the pumping Emergence and the tense I Can’t Sleep Since, they just happen to be slightly more musical, and intelligent that your standard ‘banger’. Four Dreams is a masterpiece that invites the listener to enjoy the wealth of Keenhouse’s diverse cultural experiences and multi-instrumental musical talent, whilst pleasing with familiar synth jams. Very, very recommended.

♫ Keenhouse – Where I Belong

♫ Keenhouse – Diary 11

♫ Keenhouse – Wet Earth

♫ Keenhouse – Twilight Bridge

Keenhouse’s Four Dreams album was released yesterday on Binary.

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Sep 5 2012

A.N.D.Y. reMixes Mike Mago

Something a little different now from Belgian producer A.N.D.Y.. With his new reMix of Dutchman Mike Mago’s The Soul he goes for a deep synthetic Rave feel. It’s a sound that we’ve seen him moving further and further toward over his last few productions. One thing is for sure, A.N.D.Y. is very good at it.

His reMix of The Soul slides effortlessly from a deep Chicago style sound, to massive Ravey House, to Acidic burbling with easy, taking the listener through a variety of moods whilst retaining a groovy warehouse vibe throughout. Loaded with pulsating synths, big Rave leads and low basses to compliment the hypnotic vocals, this track is sure to go down a storm on many dimly lit dancefloors in the near future.

♫ Mike Mago – The Soul (A.N.D.Y. reMix)

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Sep 5 2012

Televisor featuring Patrick Baker

Check out the kind of awesome things that happen when two massive talents get together. We’ve previously shown love to both British/Dutch Nu-Disco collaboration Televisor and awesome retro ElectroPop artist Patrick Baker. What happens? Pure funky vintage Pop is what happens!

Run Away, the result of this meeting of minds, is a summery Pop gem, loaded with Televisior’s synth Funk and Baker’s Pop sensibilities it’s a track that you can’t help but smile to. Dominated by massive retro synths and Baker’s classic Pop croon it’s an easy-breezy song, but once the sax solo hits, it;s taken to the next level.

♫ Televisor (Feat. Patrick Baker) – Run Away

Check out more from Televisor on SoundCloud.

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Sep 5 2012

Noosa reMixes Cinnamon Girl

Camilla Roholm A.K.A. Cinnamon Girl’s Devil In Me is the first track we’re really feeling from this Danish songstress, but we are really feeling it. It looks set to be her breakthrough tune, and with it will come a host of reMixes. One that has caught out ear right now is this version from New York DreamPop outfit Noosa.

Noosa tame the raucous post-ElectroClash of the original, smoothing it out for a totally different, but no less fun, vibe. Gone are the chainsaw synths in favour of dreamy guitar and easy going synths. Held together with a dancefloor beat, this carefree reMix is just the ticket for summer parties. Cinnamon Girl’s vocals work amazingly well in both contexts, but right here it’s time to just give in to the swirling DreamPop of this take on the song.

♫ Cinnamon Girl – Devil In Me (Noosa reMix)

Devil In Me is out now, available from Cinnamon Girl’s Bandcamp.

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Sep 5 2012

I Am In Love’s ‘Palm’

Following on from their acclaimed track I Want You, London Indie-Electro quartet I Am In Love are releasing their new single, Palm, in October. It’s a track that’s been kicking around for a while but it’s impending release makes this as good a time as any to feature it.

Palm is a genre defying wall of beautiful noise. Taking cues from Shoegaze, EBM, ElectroPop and ‘80’s Indie, the song confronts you with wall-of-sound guitars tempered with a Euro Industrial synth bassline and impassioned Post-Punk vocals. It’s like a compendium of every thing great about Indie music in the ‘80’s, with a contemporary sheen. Luckily, for us, it feel mostly like a SynthPop track, full of urgency and a nervous tension that drives the song to it’s conclusion.

♫ I Am In Love – Palm

Check out more from I Am In Love on SoundCloud.

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Sep 5 2012

Digital Switchover’s ‘Eclipse’

Out today on Swedish label Bonerizing Records is this Electro-House monster from Scottish producer Jamie Connelly, also known as Digital Switchover. Recently premiered on BBC Radio 1 the track is already getting support from the likes of F.o.o.L, Muttonheads, Elektropusher, Lee Mortimer and Saint Pauli. Y’know, all the big noisy dancefloor dudes.

Eclipse is a massive, building tune. Grinding synths battle for dominance throughout it’s four minutes. Chainsaw riffs growl, commanding the dancefloor before we hit a huge breakdown that builds and builds until you practically can’t take it anymore, then drops you right back in the middle of some of the most pumping Electro-House you’ll hear this year. Digital Switchover’s definitely going to make an impact with this one.

♫ Digital Switchover – Eclipse (Original Mix) (Radio Rip)

Eclipse is out today.

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Sep 4 2012

Blende’s ‘Fake Love’

London’s Swedish king of ballsy Electro-Disco Blende is gearing up for the release of his new single, Fake Love, later this month. Blende has been consistently impressing with his reMix work this year, but now with blend [pun intended] of French Electro, French Disco and English ElectroPop he’s about to give some of the biggest names on the scene a run for their money.

We’re not saying this lightly either. We were a little lukewarm on the latest Justice album, if it’d sounded like Fake Love, we would have been all over it. It’s loaded with those chainsaw synths and phased piano that we’d normally associate with Justice, but Blende takes it to the next level. Rebecca (from Sweden’s Rebecca And Fiona) provides a rich vocal for the track, adding a catch hook to a track that is so full of Funk, so full of electronic power, that it has to be heard to be believed. Sometimes, just sometimes, the new kids can really take the old masters to school. reMixes are supplied by The Living Islands, Belgian legends Villa, who turn in a gritty Disco stompfest with a hard Electro pump to it and electronic rumors favourites Chordashian who bring their pounding Disco-House groove to the table in the single standout reMix. Fake Love comes highly recommended.

♫ Blende – Fake Love

♫ Blende – Fake Love (Villa reMix)

♫ Blende – Fake Love (Chordashian reMix)

Blende’s Fake Love is released 17th September on Eskimo Recordings.

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Sep 4 2012

Tommy’s ‘Outer Space Adventurer’

Yesterday Frenchman Tommy, one of the leading lights of the second wave of SynthWave producers, and hands down one of the best SynthWave producers out there, released his début full length album, Outer Space Adventurer. With a handful if singles and EPs behind him, Tommy’s body of work has always impressed and seen this prolific producer rise above his contemporises both in terms of musicality and production.Now his album is here we are glad to report, it was worth the wait.

The soundtrack to an imaginary space opera epic, Outer Space Adventurer is a musical journey, one track flowing effortlessly to the next, sliding from one mood to the next, as it lays out a narrative of interstellar exploration. Did we mention it was long too? Twenty tracks of blissed out Sci-Fi SynthWave ranging from high energy Italo workouts to dreamy introspective mood pieces. The whole album is quite the masterpiece, there’s far too much awesomeness to catalogue it all right here, so hear are four of our favourites from Outer Space Adventurer. Blast Off Into Space is the first proper track on the album and where the Italo vibe really gets going. Punchy arpeggios create a rock solid groove for Tommy’s shimmering space age synth line to dance atop. The combination of the rhythm section, steady and mechanical and the keys exuding a sense of wonder realty sets the scene for the album’s story. Destination Ultime is the kind of track where Tommy let’s his Vangelis-esque side shine. A beautifully atmospheric piece, layers of synthesizer goodness and soaring lead lines convey a total futuristic fascination. The Hour Has Come To Fight is, I suppose, the albums action set piece. Far from brutal though, The Hour Has Come To Fight is a bright slab of retro ElectroPop. Energetic and euphoric it really feels like the album’s kinetic high point. The duelling square and sine lead lines are pure synth joy. Fugitives And Hunters is another of Tommy’s more introspective works. Pounding ‘80’s drums and an ominous ambience are tempered with some optimistic sounding keys that seem to soar over the lush tonal pallet below. If you are at all a fan of synth music, of ‘80’s sounds, or even Sci-Fi, then Tommy’s Outer Space Adventurer is an essential album, and a benchmark for the new breed of SynthWave.

♫ Tommy – Blast Off Into Space

♫ Tommy – Destination Ultime

♫ Tommy – The Hour Has Come To Fight

♫ Tommy – Fugitives And Hunters

Tommy’s Outer Space Adventurer is out now,

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Sep 4 2012

Alpha Boy’s ‘Heroes On Tape’ album

Berlin based SynthWave producer Norman Knight, better known as Alpha Boy, is fast becoming one of he most prolific artist on the scene. It was only April that he released his last compilation of work, the Blockbuster Album, and he’s already set with a brand new LP. Released today, Heroes On Tape cements Alpha Boy’s status as one of SynthWave’s unsung heroes. How does he keep the quality up?

From the second the album begins, with an intro piece titled Crus’n In 1982, it;s clear that despite his high quantity output, Alpha Boy isn’t just chucking out any old tracks. Heroes On Tape is fourteen track of some of the best ‘80’s inspired Electro around. The album is built around tributes to classic TV shows and movies of the decade. With titles like Master Of The Universe, Macgyver, Harold F., Flux Capacitor, BMX and Starman, the album is is the music equivalent of a night in with a stack of VHS tapes. Continuing the trend seen on Blockbuster, Heroes On Tape keeps the retro soundtrack feel, but moves itself away from standard SynthWave fare with musical nod to classic SynthPop and Pop of the era with rolling drum fills and catchy lead lines. Various tracks take on audio cues too, like Danielson [sic] (as in Daniel San), a homage to The Karate Kid, which gently covers the post-Italo electronics with an oriental feel and the tense sense of urgency found amongst I’m Coming To Get You. Highlights of the album have to be the warm Sci-Fi Italo melodies of Master Of The Universe, which dips and builds and never looses it’s dancefloor excitement. Harold F., a track so full of soaring synth leads that just listening to it is uplifting. Flux Capacitor, which powers along in rapid fire arpeggios, keeping things danceable amidst the hypnotic synths and evocate tones, and the nostalgic electronic pump of BMX. Alpha Boy has delivered another amazingly good body of work here, how he keeps up the pace is anyone’s guess, but he never seems to let the high output damage the music’s quality, in terms of either arrangement or production. Definitely recommended SynthWave.

♫ Alpha Boy – Master Of The Universe

♫ Alpha Boy – Harold F.

♫ Alpha Boy – Flux Capacitor

♫ Alpha Boy – BMX

Heroes On Tape is released today at Alpha Boy’s Bandcamp.

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Sep 4 2012

Crystal Bridge

Russian duo Crystal Bridge stopped by the electronic rumors inbox recently to prove one again that when it comes to retro SynthPop music, Russia is leading the pack. Taking more of a cue from the likes of Tesla Boy rather than their SynthWave peers, Crystal Waters produce some excellent New Wave tinged ElectroPop.

The two original tracks on the SoundCloud are quite different beasts, held together by a nostalgic ‘80’s sound and a nod towards teen movies of that era. The Secret Letter Or Two Overboard could quite honestly have been taken from the soundtrack to any number of John Hughes or Joel Schumacher(pre-Nipples Batman) movies. Bright, shimmering synths play out melodies that feel strangely familiar against a brooding soundtrack of dramatic tones. On No Account Don’t Choose, on the other hand, is a jump up vocal SynthPop track full of twisting retro leads and slick guitar. Deeply seeped in carefree American ‘80’s Pop, On No Account Don’t Choose is a catchy, exuberant display of what Crystal Bridge can do. More pleases.