Feb 21 2013

[MP3] Stellar Dreams’ ‘Nightvoid’

We first featured Malaysian outfit Stellar Dreams’ brooding SynthWave epic Nightvoid mid last year. Not the track is getting a full single release via Keiz beats with a host of complimentary reMixes. Daryl and Wolf Saga step up for mix duties while the original is put in prime position as the standout of the package.

As we mentioned last time, Nightvoid is an atmospheric, evocative, retro piece. A marching post-Italo epic, multi layers with vintage synth sounds compounded into a soulful opus by Dana Jean Phoenix’s big, authentically 80s, vocals. Belgian Daryl delivers a groovy, jackin’, warehouse version of the track. The vocals in this mix are slightly pitched up. I know! Pitched up! Breaking the now tedious cliché of pitching down vocals for Chicago House track, Daryl flies in the face of convention on turns in an energetic House anthem. Wolf Saga takes a different approach, making his version of Nightvoid a deep unrelenting, SynthWave mix with powerful drums and upping the atmospherics even more. Finally, a solid release for this awesome tune.

♫ Stellar Dreams (Feat. Dana Jean Phoenix) – Nightvoid (Original Mix)

♫ Stellar Dreams (Feat. Dana Jean Phoenix) – Nightvoid (Daryl reMix)

♫ Stellar Dreams (Feat. Dana Jean Phoenix) – Nightvoid (Wolf Saga reMix)

Stellar Dreams’ Nightvoid is released 11th March.

Buy Stellar Dreams’ music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 20 2013

[Audio] Garth Knight’s ‘Goliath’

Of all the recent crop of new SynthWave artists to break in the last twelve months, Glaswegian artist Garth Knight has stood out from the pack both in terms of composition and production. This has marked his début album as one of the more eagerly anticipated SynthWave releases of 2013. The album saw the light of days earlier this month via Lunar Boogie, and having given it repeated spins in the last week or so we can definitely say it doesn’t disappoint.

The albums title continues Garth’s obsession with the dark side of Knight Rider. Named Goliath after Michael and K.I.T.T.’s evil counterparts Garth and K.A.R.R.’s own semi-truck in the show the record drops lots of Knight Rider references, but musically and lyrically, which nicely sets the tone of the album. Made up of the best of garth’s releases over the past twelve months sprinkled with new tracks, Goliath kicks off with the epic six minute Mainframe which lays out Garth’s particular brand of dirty basslined SynthWave perfectly, giving you a fair amount of time to acclimatise to this world of action packed anthems. Autotron keeps the grimy synth bass vibe going, setting it against haunting pads and if followed by Turbo Boost, the albums first sit-up-and-take-notice track. A rolling Italo jam, Turbo Boost comprises a vintage beat and a spikey FM melody that provide backing for a ridiculously simple, but catchy vocoded vocal. Skipping over Break Point, the album’s aberrant off-track (it’s a bit of an embarrassment compared to the rest of the release), you find Headstart, a frantic, arpeggio fuelled, race track that lift the energy of the album back up and delivers a synthetic rush before the second half of the Goliath. Silent Strike is another standout, drawing dangerously close to ElectroPop in it’s Poppy hooks and euphoric vibe. Silicon Dawn and Transcoding follow, both injecting the collection with a darker tone, before giving way to the retro synth Funk of Solidstate. Solidstate is driven along by a deep, groovy bassline that’s layered with Cosmic synths and an ethereal melody. The album eases you out of it;s world with the Jarre-esque Time The Healer, a beautiful slice of melodic 80s synth work. Goliath is a solid release, and fans of the genre should already have this record in their collection.

♫ Garth Knight – Turbo Boost

♫ Garth Knight – Headstart

♫ Garth Knight – Solidstate

♫ Garth Knight – Silent Strike

♫ Garth Kight – Time The Healer

Garth Knight’s Goliath is out now.

Buy Garth Knight’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 18 2013

[Audio] beaumont’s ‘Milton’s Party’

Hot on the heels of his reMix of Echoes’ Second Best on electronic rumors Volume 1: The reMix EP, Milton’s Party is the latest offering from Australian electronic experimentalist beaumont, or should that be Australian Italo maverick? Milton’s Party sees beaumont channelling a little Moroder into his madcap Disco. While we’re still waiting for the awesome Vampire to be released, Milton’s Party offered more than enough retro Funk to keep us going.

There’s hint of thinks in this track that we haven’t heard from beaumont, not in a while at least. Loaded with 80s Funk, big vintage stabs and a proper Italo groove Milton’s Party bobs and weaves around multiple melodies, combining beaumont’s musical flair with a nostalgic electronic Disco sound. Wrapped up in a major dancefloor weapon, this one’s got a bit of everything. Be prepared to be unable to resist.

♫ beaumont – Milton’s Party

Buy beaumont’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 15 2013

[MP3] Nightcrawler’s ‘Road Blaster’

Spanish SynthWave producer Nightcrawler released his Road Blaster single this week. Not only has he delivered a stormingly powerful slice of retro synth music, but he’s collected some of the top talent in the scene to contribute reMixes to the release. Miami Nights 1984, Tommy, Dynatron, Protector 101 and 80s Stallone all put in an appearance, which reads like a whos-who of the cream of the scene. It;s almost impossible to pick favourites here.

The original version of Road Blaster is a driving example of atmospheric instrumental Italo. Fuelled by rich, dark synths and a stomping beat, Road Burner offsets it’s ominous tone with playful melodies and an exciting tone. Miami Nights 1984 reMix injects the tune with a little vintage electronic Funk, bringing out a bouncing bassline to give the track some groove, whilst layering his thick 80s chords with some of the most beautiful piano work and soloing we’ve heard in a SynthWave track for a long time. MN84’s reMix is truly epic. Frenchman Tommy’s take on the track is suitably Sci-Fi. Utilising waves of cosmic synths to wrap the listener in a wash of electronic wonder. For a darker, more dystopian, vision of Road Blaster Protector 101 dials back the tempo and works his was around haunting and sometimes oppressive sounds but with an air of optimism throughout. The whole is EP an excellent excursion in nostalgic soundtrack Italo and well worthy of your attention. It’s free too.

♫ Nightcrawler – Road Blaster

♫ Nightcrawler – Road Blaster (Miami Nights 1984 reMix)

♫ Nightcrawler – Road Blaster (Tommy reMix)

♫ Nightcrawler – Road Blaster (Protector 101 reMix)

Pick up the whole EP right now, for free, on Nightcrawler’s Bandcamp.

Buy Nightcrawler’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 14 2013

[Audio] Mild Peril’s ‘Voyager 2010’ EP

This week London based Italo Experimentalist Mild Peril released his latest EP. Well, latest as in ‘just released’, the tracks themselves date from 2010 (hence the EP’s title, Voyager 2012), but sound as fresh now as ever. Running the gauntlet from Italo to Minimal Synth to EBM to Cosmic Disco, Voyager’s three epics deliver vastly different styles, but are neatly tied together in Mild Peril’s rich analog atmosphere.

Separated into Sequences, the EP kicks off with Sequence I-II, an immediate attention grabber. It’s an evocative slice of Sci-Fi synth with a nostalgic Italo-Disco vibe. Whilst the pulsating Disco bass groove would be easy to get lost in on the dancefloor, the real joy of this eight minute odyssey is just sitting back and listening to the playing. The layers of intertwining melody sweep about the track carrying the listener through a music narrative with some hair raising solo moments. Sequence III is Minimal Synth meets SynthWave affair. Punchy drums, undulating arpeggios and a surprisingly sweet organ deliver an upbeat, driving exploration of live synth works. The EP closes on Sequence IV which sees the organ return in a much more ominous capacity over a track with classic EBM in it’s DNA. Considering this EP was pieced together out of older oddities in Mild Peril’s repertoire, it leaves us pretty excited to hear what he’s got planned going into the future.

♫ Mild Peril – Voyager, Sequence I-II

♫ Mild Peril – Voyager, Sequence III

If you’re in London this weekend you should check out Mild Peril’s EP release party, also featuring Soft Riot and A Terrible Splendour, details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/323188217785131

Voyager 2012 is out now.

Buy Mild Peril’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 12 2013

[Audio] Ajello’s ‘Kalimba Tune’

Out at the end if this month on Ruben & Ra’s Retrospective imprint is an ecclectic slice of Disco and House in the form of the Kalimba Tune single, the latest offering from DJ Rocca and Fabrizio Taver Tavernelli’s Ajello project. If you’re looking for something a little different to get your butt shaking, then you may have come to the right place, the Kalimba Tune serves up a fresh, ethnic instrument driven, take on Disco-House.

Kalimba Tune itself, the single’s lead track, is a big ol’ melting bot, into which Ajello a little late 80s Acid House, a little Cosmic Disco, a hint of Italo and mixes it all up with some smooth Tropical sounds as a garnish. The the whole affair is given a world Music feel with some beautiful (apparently) Sub-Saharan thumb piano. This track could be huge over the summer on the festival circuit, it’s got just the right left-field Disco attitude. The B-side, Saturday Morning, is a warping, cheeky, slice of Cosmic Disco with a bit of a Scandinavian feel. An analog synth workout, Ajello drop what sounds like a live Disco jam. you can just imagine them rocking around banks of wooden ended analog snyths, slipping bubbling LFO’ed sounds in and out of the track. Of course, amongst the single myriad reMixes comes a groovy little tune from Ruben & Ra themselves. The duo’s Cosmic Jam version of Kalimba Tune turns the tune into a late night, laid back track for strictly the sexiest of dancefloors, loaded with added House piano and what sounds like added Q-Tip. Intelligent Disco at it’s finest.

♫ Ajello – Kalimba Tune

♫ Ajello – Saturday Morning

♫ Ajello – Saturday Morning (Ruben & Ra’s Cosmic Jam)

Ajello’s Kalimba Tune is released 25th February on 12” with the digital release following in March. it’ll feature reMixes from Hardway Bros, Chris Massey and Verdo too.

Buy Ajello’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 8 2013

[MP3] Moustache Machine reMixes Madonna

With Classixx’s awesome reMix of Madonna’s Lucky Star nearly two years old now, it’s the perfect time for some fresh blood on the Lucky Star scene. It’s the prefect track for a Disco update, and stepping up for the challenge is French producer Moustache Machine.

The tracks got all the elements for a massive Italo-Disco workout, pumping synth bass, bright keys, evil little Disco licks and Madge’s big vocal. Moustache Machine handles these elements with ease, reworking them into his own version of dancefloor gold. With just the right amount of added driving synth goodness, and the occasional B-Boy breakdown, this is easily one of the best reMixes of this track we’ve heard.

♫ Madonna – Lucky Star (Moustache Machine reMix)

Buy Madonna’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 8 2013

[Audio] Logan Sky’s new album

London based SynthWave artist Logan Sky is gearing up for the release of his brand new album, Face The Flames. Previously part of ElectroPop duo Saar & Sky, one of our favourite acts of the past few years, Logan has been steadily carving out a name for himself as a solo artist producing some of the most interesting Italo influenced sounds around.

Right now we can have a listen to the first track from the album to be revealed, Blonde Cobra. It’s a rich slice of futuristic Italo. An edgy BladeRunner mood is countered with bright, shining melodies as an ominous arpeggiated bassline powers the track onward amidst waves of Sci-Fi synths. Haunting and atmospheric whist still being a solid Italo floorfiller, Blonde Cobra has us eager to hear more from the soon-to-be released new record.

♫ Logan Sky – Blonde Cobra

Logan Sky’s Face The Flames album is released 25th February.

Buy Logan Sky’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 8 2013

[Audio] Miles Prower’s ‘San Francisco Nights’

San Francisco Nights is the new tune from Bristol based SynthWave act Miles Prower. Despite the name, the track feels like a decidedly British take on SynthWave, owing as much to 80s SynthPop and kid’s TV shows as it does to Jan Hammer’s Miami vice soundtrack.

Driven by an arpeggiated bassline, San Francisco Nights delivers a cornucopia of bright snyths and lush, ringing, melodies. At times sounding like the theme to a Saturday tea-time Sci-Fi show, this is a tune that revels in multiple, intertwining delayed leads and a nostalgic simple feel. With some wonderful chord progressions, San Francisco Nights is a classy piece of relaxing Italo.

♫ Miles Prower – San Francisco Nights

Check out more from Miles Prower on SoundCloud.

Follow @electronicrumor

Feb 6 2013

[Audio] Thunderclaw

Completely out of the blue we are hit by yet another totally new talent. it;s always the most exciting time as a music writer, to be compelled to put down words about, not the latest release by whatever name brings in traffic these days, or by whatever PR person you’re trying to keep on the good side of, but by someone genuinely fresh. Enter Thunderclaw. He’s got four followers on SoundCloud right now, we’re hoping this little article can go some way to rectifying that.

Thunderclaw is Filip Järnmark, resident of Sockholm, which is home of some of the best electronic music on the planet so he’s in good company, and delving into his SoundCloud reveals a selection of tracks that straddle the gap between SynthWave and Electro-House, with a touch of Disco boogie. Magiccc is our favourite of his tunes. A driving Electronic track with a hypnotic synth hook that drags you along though four minutes of Disco infused SynthWave. Full of bright synth stabs and buzzing bass, this track was an immediate attention grabber. Voyage is another of his good ones, this time he brings a little hardcore Italo into the fold, mutating it into a grinding Electro monster. Relentless and pounding until it breaks into a soaring Sci-Fi lead riff, this track is night driving gold. this is one new producer we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on.