Nov 11 2013

[Audio] Televisor’s ‘Can’t Get Enough’

It’s time for this week’s ‘song featruing Patrick Baker’! Only joking, it’s actually been a whopping eighteen days since we last posted about a song graced by Mr. Baker’s vocals, I think the internet was starting to get withdrawal symptoms. We are starting to get a little suspicious that their might be a hostage situation somewhere, and every-time a Nu-Disco or Chicago House producer creates a track that doesn’t feature Patrick Backer on vocals a hostage gets shot, thus preventing Patrick from working on his own excellent music and homogenizing everyone’s tracks. Nu-Disco and House producers…blink twice if you need help.

Televisor’s Can’t Get Enough is actually an excellent tune. A breezy poolside Disco tune with just the right amount of nostalgia. Big vintage sounding stabs riding over wicked Disco licks give the track it’s quirky Funk, as they glide over playful synths and a rock solid beat. The vocals are, well, Patrick Baker vocals, you know the drill by now. Impeccable as always, but a little too thinly spread. Can’t Get Enough is part of a charity compilation called EDM: Every Day Matters that is out now, and although it’s a terrible, terrible tile (the mere idea of British people using the term ‘EDM’ makes us shudder) it’s raising money for Comic Relief, which is an amazing cause so you should check it out.

♫ Televisor (Feat. Patrick Baker) – Can’t Get Enough

The EDM: Every Day Matters compilation is out now.

Buy Televisor’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Nov 1 2013

[Audio] Starcadian’s ‘Sunset Blood’ album

Starcadian’s Sunset Blood is the best Disco album of the year. There, that’s the short version of this review. It’s a pretty bold statement to make in a year that Daft Punk released their long awaited comeback, but we stand by it. Not that Starcadian’s freshly released début full length record, Sunset Blood, is strictly a Disco album, but it has a strain of authentic Disco running through it’s DNA that puts many contemporary Disco producers to shame. Mixed up with helpings of SynthWave, ElectroPop and TurboFunk it’s the perfect recipie.

Ever since we discovered Brooklyn based producer Starcadian he’s been a particular favourite around these parts, his track Girls Of Midnight clocking in at number three in our top 20 songs of 2012. Nothing about this thirteen track collection of tunes has let us down, and our expectation were high!

A new version of single Ronnie opens the album, it’s funkin’ bass, smooth electric Piano and slightly melancholy vocoding setting the tone for the album, exciting, emotional, electronic music and a badass, soaring, solo. The brooding Robo-Funk of Chinatown is up next. It’s passionate, cinematic, vocals meets rousing vintage electronics approach sending shivers down your spine. Previous favourite Sgt. Tagowski’s high-octane, slap bass fuelled, retro SynthWave meets ChipTune madness is followed by the album version of the single Heˆrt. Heˆrt is a simply beautiful piece of music, A piano led Disco ballad, a Sci-Fi lament that highlights Starcadian’s musicianship, songwriting and production skills perfectly. Spectrum Line, another new tune, is up next delivering it’s big DiscoPop vibes with an R&B twist, all smoothed over with Starcadian’s slightly gritty Electro sounds. The laid back vocoder grooves return on Lovetop, a vintage Disco laden love song, smooth and soulful to the extreme and contrasted with the big ElectroPop of Supersymmetry, probably the album’s Pop highlight. Big beats, slick vocals and catchy choruses all add up to pure synthesizer infectiousness. A New York Indie-Electro feel permeates the dreamy Waters before the album charges into the Cornish assault that is Pompey Pirate, bringing a French Electro epicness to Sunset Blood. Chainsaw riffs and soaring leads scream over a relentless machine beat and cut up, distorted electronics. What follows are three orchestrated, soundtrack pieces. Binary Stars, The Floppy Disk and It Ends Now being classical takes on the themes of Heˆrt, Chinatown and Pompey Pirate. With a John Williams flavour, this trilogy really show off Starcadian’s talent for arrangement as he presents a bombastic cavalcade of rising strings and horns that really get the blood racing. The album plays out on it’s title track, Sunset Blood is enigmatic SynthWave at it’s finest. A mysterious musical exposition, a synthesizer epic that leaves you waiting for the sequel.

It cannot be understated how impressive and confident a début Sunset Blood is for Starcadian. Easily one of the albums of the year. A musical narrative that deftly carries you along with it whist delivering some of the most addictive Disco we’ve heard in a long time. Highly recommended.

♫ Starcadian – Sgt. Tagowski

♫ Starcadian – Supersymmetry

♫ Starcadian – Ronnie (Album Mix)

♫ Starcadian – Pompey Pirate

Starcadian’s Sunset Blood is out now. Pick it up from Bandcamp.

Buy Starcadian’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Oct 31 2013

[Audio] Mild Peril’s ‘Wizards’ Pupil’/’Arp Of Pan’

What better day than Halloween to continue your journey down the rabbit hole that is the world of Mild Peril. The latest release from London’s Italo Experimentalist comes in the form of a brand new four track EP. It’s a double A-side affair, first up is two versions of Wizard’s Pupil, followed by two versions of Arp Of Pan on the flip. Pretty Proggy titles, huh? Well, it is Halloween. And don’t worry about the names, hit play any you’ll be treated to some serious cosmic synth narrative. You won’t regret it.

Both track come in two flavours, First Sequence and Second Sequence. Wizard’s Pupil stars life as a burbling slice of moody Italo, the creeping dread of mid 80s Horror movie soundtracks evident as Mild Peril’s musical story starts to unfold. Clocking in at 8 minutes Wizard’s Pupil (First Sequence) has plenty of time to evolve, morphing from the melancholy synth of it’s beginnings into an optimistic, even uplifting, slice of electronic wonder, which is carried into it’s Second Sequence where the shiny, hopeful, synths are complimented with a retro dancefloor beat. Arp Of Pan continues to play both the atmospheric Italo and cinematic SynthWave cards, undulating waves of arpeggios crashing against a steady groove to create something quite hypnotic broken by twisting and rousing solos. The Arps’ Second Sequence bring takes the mood to a more pensive place for the EP’s closer, with a deep and mysterious fifteen minutes of synthetic bliss. Another storming release from Mild Peril and a must for synthesizer fans.

♫ Mild Preil – Wizard’s Pupil (First Sequence)

♫ Mild Peril – Arp Of Pan (First Sequence)

Mild Peril’s Wizards’ Pupil/Arp Of Pan is out now on Bandcamp.

Buy Mild Peril’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Oct 31 2013

[Download] Wolf Saga reMixes Overwerk’s ‘Night Shift’

The latest tune from Canadian Chilly-DiscoPopmeister Wolf Saga comes in the form of a seasonal sounding moody retro Electro reMix of his friend Overwerk’s Night Shift. It’s not that creepy really, what it is, is a big, storming Electro-House tune that’s a bit of a departure for Wolf Saga, but we do love to see musicians stretching their musical muscles.

This one’s all about the big, ominous keys, buzzsaw synths and driving beats. Poking it’s head into SynthWave territory while it bashes out it’s big room beats, the reMix borrows a few relentless arpeggios and a cinematic feel from the genre before throwing that in a musical blender and turning it up to eleven. Rock your Halloween parry with this one.

♫ Overwerk – Night Shift (Wolf Saga reMix)

Buy Overwerk’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Oct 31 2013

[Audio] Absolute Valentine’s ‘American Nightmares’ EP

Just in time for Halloween, French SynthWaver Absolute Valentine has dropped a new EP of suitably eerie soundtracks and juggernaut horror grooves. Titled, American Nightmares the EP boasts more than a couple of nods to American Horror films of the 80s in it’s relentless synth basses and spine tingling leads. Be prepared for eight tracks to fill your nightmares, or liven up your Halloween parties, it’d work for either one.

The EP is packed with everything from short mood pieces to full-on dark electro masterworks. Terrordome is evocative of the whole EPs mood. Driving Italo beats and multi layered melodies, with everything just on the right side of terrifying.. The bass shakes your gut while the piercing leads set you on edge just enough. The whole thing is tempered with waves of lush chords holding an optimism within them. The EP’s title track once again mixes up creepshow synths with slamming dancefloor beats. On-the-edge-of-your-seat Electro, American Nightmares has an unnerving sense of urgency about it, like it doesn’t want to hang around, and neither should you. Growling synths are intercut with chilling harpsichord which even the irresistible beats can’t escape. Chainsaw Revenge is proper French Electro gone Halloween. Grinding leads and the hugest beat on the records meet for what is borderline a big-room epic, albeit one that will kill you once the dancing is done. Another awesome eight tunes from Absolute Valentine. John Carpenter would be proud.

♫ Absolute Valentine – Terrordrome

♫ Absolute Valentine – American Nightmares

♫ Absolute Valentine – Chainsaw Revenge

Absolute Valentine’s American Nightmares EP is out now.

Buy Absolute Valentine’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Oct 22 2013

[Download] Goldroom’s ‘Embrace’ reMixed by Awkoder

With so many reMixes of Goldroom’s excellent Embrace knocking about these days it’s pretty hard to make your stand out from the crowd. The best way to do this, we have realised from listening to dozens, it to truly make the song your own, you’re not going to out-chilled-Disco Goldroom so don’t bother, to make it different and unique. And that’s exactly what French SynthWaver Awkoder has done.

I’m not sure we can even call Awkoder a SynthWaver anymore, especially after this proto-Rave, slightly Deep House track. You can tell Awkoder comes from a retro background, there’s a whole heap of late 80s dance tropes going on, the melodic synth stabs really make the track, Pair them up with a deep digital bassline and a warehouse beat and you’ve got a new direction for Embrace. The reMix is loaded with vocal modulation too, making the original unrecognisable at times, how’s that for making it your own?

♫ Goldroom – Embrace (Awkoder reMix)

Goldroom’s Embrace EP is out now.

Buy Goldroom’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Oct 18 2013

[Audio] CJ Mirra’s ‘RGB Flowers’

CJ Mirra is the synthetic alter-ego if John Sampson, after earning critical acclaim in the Indie world, he’s now flexing his creative muscles with an array of electronic gadgetry. CJ Mirra creates eerie soundscapes, Sci-Fi soundtracks and emotionally resonant moods, all set to undulating and intricate rhythms. His début EP was released next month on Colour8 Records with RGB Flowers, it’s lead track, featuring partner-in-crime Ronika.

RBG Flowers is a pulsating opus that walks the line between futuristic, dystopian, soundtrack and deeply human lament. With rhythms built upon a combination of grinding machine beats and Tabla-esque purcussion, RGB Flowers lays down the juxtaposition of brutal, chainsaw bass and beautiful, Vangelis style synths to create a slightly edgy, slightly unsettling, but always intoxicating piece to take with you into the night. A vaguely recognisable Ronika delivers a performance that adds an extra personal quality to the track, but works more as an additional instrument on CJ Mirra’s sonic canvas than as the tunes focal point. Oh, and there’s a hazy sax solo, and sax makes everything better. The EP comes equipped with and instrumental version of RGB Flowers and the enigmatic and eerie dance beats of Soft Candles and is definitely one you should check out if you fancy a slice of intelligent and meticulously crafted electronica.

♫ CJ Mirra (Feat. Ronika) – RGB Flowers

CJ Mirra’s three track début EP, RBG Flowers, is released 4th November.

Check out more from CJ Mirra on SoundCloud.

Follow @electronicrumor

Oct 17 2013

[Audio] Final DJs reMix Kovary’s ‘Black And Green’

Out this week is the new release from Hungarian producer Kovary. Teaming up with vocalist Tamas Morocz he’s released Black And Green, a big Disco-House tune that comes equipped with a loaded reMix package. In amongst that package you’ll find this gem from Germany’s Final DJs, who give the tack a 80s Buck Rogers Sci-Fi sheen.

Turning their SynthWave machine up to 11, Final DJs really deliver the huge, powerful, futuristic Disco grooves. Rocking along on an insanely funky synth bassline, the track is loaded to bursting point with lush sweeping synths, Disco pops and gritty leads. Balancing tough and funky nicely, Final DJs have delivered another storming tune.

♫ Kovary (Feat. Tamas Morocz) – Black And Green (Final DJs reMix)

Kovary’s Black And Green is out now.

Buy Kovary’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Oct 10 2013

[Audio] MegaDrive’s ‘The Gate’

It a bit early for our usual influx of Halloween inspired tunes, no doubt nearer the 31st we’ll be going into blood soaked mode again, but ahead of all that spookiness we have Dallas based SynthWaver MegaDrive’s contribution to this years festivities. A staple of the retro synth scene for the past year or so, MegaDrive has come to be known as a name delivering quality electronic epics.

MegaDrive’s Halloween offering is titled The Gate, this is horror SynthWave at it’s finest. With the obligatory 80s horror movie sample (in this case from the trailer for 1987’s titular The Gate), growling arpeggios and knife sharp leads, MegaDrive instils this slice of movie nostalgia with an air of tension, building the track with swirling leads, ominous tones and even a little harpsichord to keep the vibe going, until it reaches it’s finale and multi layered horrorshow synth climax. Excellent work from MegaDrive, put this on the back burner until the end of the month.

♫ MegaDrive – The Gate

Buy MegaDrive’s music from:

Follow @electronicrumor

Oct 9 2013

[Audio] Pyramid reMixes Goldn Retriever’s ‘I Feel Great Now’

The latest slice of majestic French analog SynthWave from the amazing Pyramid comes in the form of this reMix for Goldn Retriever. No, not the dog (notice the lack of an ‘e’ in ‘Golden’), but the London based producer who recently released his album The Dawn Within, from which this track, I Feel Great Now is taken.

Pyramid taken the smooth, soulful Electronics of the original and morphs it into an edge Sci-fi epic with that piercing quality that only he can pull off. A menacing machine beat pounds away in the background, peppered with vintage purcussion, to provide a robotic march for incoming waves of icy, dystopian synths. Amidst all this android funk there is a real human quality to Pyramid’s music that feeds into the original’s vocals. Another quality futuristic soundtrack from Pyramid.