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 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.

Buy Alpha Boy’s music from:

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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.

♫ Crystal Bridge – The Secret Letter Or Two Overboard

♫ Crystal Bridge – On No Account Don’t Choose

Check out more from Crystal Bridge on SoundCloud.

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Sep 4 2012

Goin’ Old School: John Foxx, New Order & Gary Numan

Goin’ Old School isn’t a trip down music memory lane, it’s a mugging in the dark alleyway of nostalgia:

Later this week we’ll be shutting up shop for a while, as we are off to Bestival. More on that tomorrow but today’s Goin’ Old School highlights three classic SynthPop acts who will be appearing at Bestival this weekend, starting with ex-Ultravox dark Electro pioneer John Foxx and 1980’s He’s a Liquid.

Headlining Bestival on the Saturday are New Order. Here’s the Arthur Baker produced Confusion from 1983.

And finally SynthPop pretender Gary Numan kicks of Bestival on Thursday night. This is his finest moment, 1985’s Call Out The Dogs.

You can buy most of this music from:

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Aug 30 2012

Ursa Minor (Little Bear)’s ‘WTF Is Love?’

Little Bear’s London ElectroPop/House outfit Ursa Minor (Little Bear) are gearing up for the release of their new EP, titled Shell. In advance of this five track release they have let slip the EP’s lead track. WTF Is Love, and one of it’s reMixes. It’s evocative stuff.

It’s a deep, deep track. Accompanied by an ominous Acidic burbling the tracks work both a sparse SynthPop/early House mix and Little Bears ethereal vocal line to their fullest. This track has a nice, atmospheric mix of raw Roland drum sounds with vintage House feel and gritty European SynthPop beauty. It’s not even the best track on the EP either! Ular Gray takes things to a Deep House place with his reMix of the track. Even going so far as to deepen the vocals, giving them a haunting, ringing quality that sits well with Gray’s classic, hypnotic, House groove.

♫ Ursa Minor (Little Bear) – WTF Is Love?

♫ Ursa Minor (Little Bear) – WTF Is Love? (Ular Gray reMix)

Ursa Minor (Little Bear)’s Shell EP is out on 1st October

Buy Ursa Minor (Little Bear)’s music from:

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Aug 29 2012

Goin’ Old School: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

Goin’ Old School isn’t a trip down music memory lane, it’s a mugging in the dark alleyway of nostalgia:

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark kicks off a full-on SynthPop Goin’ Old School with Enola Gay from 1980.

1983, our favourite Depeche Mode era, spawned Everything Counts.

Although not Erasure’s first single, 1986’s Sometimes was easily their breakthrough tune.

You can buy most of this music from:

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Aug 22 2012

Just some of those Barry Manilow reMixes

Right then, by now I think you all know our opinion of reMix contests. They aren’t good for anyone. But we’re not going to go on about it again, but like we said we’re only going to do round-ups of reMix competition entries from now on, because, don;t get us wrong, reMix competitions do churn out some absolutely wicked tracks. This week’s tiresome competition comes in the surprising form of legendary smoothster Barry Manilow in a transparently lame attempt to seem relevant, or something. The upside of this is it’s given some very talented producers access to that unmistakable croon.

So here’s the first batch of reMixes of Manilow’s new single, Everything’s Gonna’ Be Alright. These guys are way ahead of the pack right now. American Disco producer Blue Satellite comes out of hiding to drop an absolutely massive Nu-Disco mix of the track. Seriously, this one is huge. Loading the track with bright synths and a solid Disco groove was exactly the way to go with this track, and Blue Satellite nailed it. Waling a different path if Ireland’s Figure Of 8, who gets a little Techy, a little Electro and a little Experimental with his all-too-short, atmospheric, reMix. His pulsating synth sounds and robotic beats shine a light on a whole new dimension for the song. Greetings Program plays around with Disco and SynthWave for his reMix, injecting the track with a little Electro Boogie. This probably isn’t the last Manilow round-up we’ll do, we are hearing whispers of some huge entries incoming. But this will do for now.

♫ Barry Manilow – Everything’s Gonna’ Be Alright (Blue Satellite reMix)

♫ Barry Manilow – Everything’s Gonna’ Be Alright (Figure Of 8 reMix)

♫ Barry Manilow – Everything’s Gonna’ Be Alright (Greetings Program reMix)

Buy Barry Manilow’s music from:

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Aug 21 2012

Goin’ Old School: Depeche Mode, The Human League & Spandau Ballet

Goin’ Old School isn’t a trip down music memory lane, it’s a mugging in the dark alleyway of nostalgia:

We’re going all SynthPop ballad’s today, starting with Depeche Mode’s Somebody, from 1984.

Next, because I like to slip a little The Human League in wherever I can, it’s 1986’s Human.

And we’ll finish up with the ultimate ‘80’s ballad. Spandau Ballet’s True, from 1983

You can buy most of this music from:

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Aug 21 2012

Jordan F’s ‘Bikini Girls’

It’s all go in the world of Jordan F right now. We’re getting new tune after new tune after new tune. We’re not complaining though, each one of Jordan’s productions is spot-on and just shows why he is deservedly one of the SynthWave scenes leading lights.

His newest one is the cheeky Bikini Girls. A skyrocketing, carefree tune that conjures relaxing days and lazy night, white sands and good times. It’s a bouncy mid-paced Italo tune that’s been layered with some seriously massive retro soundtrack synths. Sit back and relax as sparking melodies and leads wash in and out of the track like waves. All that’s left to do now is wait for Jordan’s album, which we hope is coming very soon.

♫ Jordan F – Bikini Girls

Buy Jordan F’s music from:

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Aug 20 2012

Two new tracks from Mental Minority

One of Germany’s best SynthWave producers Mental Minority has not one, but two, new tracks for us. Both are something a little new form this guy, but still keeping the ‘80’s synth flavour. Two tracks, two moods, check them out.

So This Is For You is a drawn-back slice of synthesizer romanticism. Bringing the tempo down slightly and turning over the Italo beats and bassline to shimmering chords and bell-like chimes, Mental Minority crafts the kind of track that would hit the emotional beat in that ‘he finally gets the girl’ bit of an ‘80’s teen movie. These Old Photographs All Show Me Wearing Black is kinda’ a sentiment I can relate too as well as being a robo funk homage to the original Futurists. Channelling a bit of Kraftwerk and the likes of The Normal and Cabaret Voltaire Mental Minority has even added the hiss of old vinyl amongst the biting analog synths and cheap drum machine sounds. It;s a hunting Minimal Synth piece that just shows the depth of influences MM has, and how creative he can get with a synth.