Aug 30 2013

[MP3] Free Johan Agebjörn/Sally Shapiro reMix album, ‘Sweetened’

Never one to sit around on his arse, prolific ElectroPop producer Johan Agebjörn having already released the new Sally Shapiro album and it’s associated collection of reMixes, the man is keeping himself busy by releasing this free compilation of his reMix work, both as himself and as part of Sally Shapiro. Sweetened pulls together some pretty big names that Agebjörn has gifted with his production skills, featuring the likes of Little Boots, Jam & Spoon, Glass Candy, Lindstrøm, CFCF, Wolfram and Holy Ghost! and Hercules And Love Affair, and more.

It’s hard to pick favourites from this sweet collection, the releases here span a couple of years and showcase every side to Agebjörn’s production. From the blistering ElectroPop to the growling Italo, Johan always injects his music with an emotional energy, often mirroring the mood of the vocals, rising and falling with the sentiment of the track. Expect an album’s worth of punchy dance beats and starlight synthesizers that whirl around your head. At times the album show’s off Agebjörn deeper, groovier, more experimental side, but on the whole you’re treated to 13 tracks from one of the best ElectroPop producers in the world working today. Did we mention it was free?

♫ Little Boots – Crescendo (Sally Shapiro Diminuendo reMix)

♫ Wolfram (Feat. Hercules And Love Affair) – Fireworks (Johan Agebjörn reMix)

♫ Lindstrøm – Grand Ideas (Johan Agebjörn reMix)

♫ Glass Candy – The Chameleon (Johan Johan Agebjörn reMix)

Johan Agebjörn/Sally Shapiro’s reMix album, Sweetened, is out now, get it here.

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Aug 23 2013

[Audio] Miles Prower’s ‘Outatime’ EP

This week Bristolian SynthWave outfit Miles Prower dropped their sophomore EP on Future City Records. With a nod to Back To The Future in it’s title, the Outatime EP serves up five tracks that see the Prowers move slightly away from a retro 80s sound into something s little cleaner, a little more digital with hints of Euphoric Trance and Progressive House in the mix.

Kicking off with the pulsating, undulating, synthetic soundscape of Tokyo, the Outatime EP contains a few tracks we’ve heard before, and a few new tunes.The EP’s title track, starring Substatic’s Colleen Quinn on vocals, we featured back in July with it’s EBM-like drive slides into Summer Song 2.1, the most traditional SynthWave tune on the EP. All the SynthWave elements are present here, arpeggiated bassline, shimmering leads, elements with are slowed down somewhat for the emotionally charged, Jarre-esque, Devices. The EP plays out on Data Streams (Into The Void). Another vocal track, featuring Coralie Kate on vocal duties, it;s a track that mixed vintage synth melodies with modern electronic sounds and late 90s Trance beats in a swirling whirlwind of sound. Another solid EP from these guts.

♫ Miles Prower (Feat. Colleen Quinn) – Outatime

♫ Miles Prower (Feat. Coralie Kate) – Data Streams (Into The Ocean)

Miles Prower’s Outatime EP is out now.

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Aug 21 2013

[MP3] New Arcades’ ‘Reflections’

London’s finest Dreamwave outfit New Arcades are here to brighten up your week with a new free track. Hot on the heels of the acclaimed self-titled début EP and a growing reputation for live brilliance in the capital, the guys are working hard on new material, but have dropped this instrumental to keep you going until the new tunes are ready for the picking.

Reflections is a majestic tune. Emotionally resonant in it’s use of synthesizers to create a rush of nostalgic warmth. Based around an Industrial beat and chugging Italo bassline, the track builds and builds, creating a multi-layered soundtrack where rousing hooks and shining melodies swirl around the listeners head. The lead riff, particularly, will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Get involved.

♫ New Arcades – Reflections

New Arcades self-titled EP is out now.

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Aug 21 2013

[Audio] Tesla Boy’s ‘Undetected’ reMixes

As teased in our interview with Anton earlier this month Tesla Boy’s new single from their amazing The Universe Made Of Darkness album is Undetected. The slow-mo snyth funk track also gets three slick reimaginings in the single package, reMixes coming from the likes of Shur-I-Kan, Lipelis and Pioneerball.

Our picks from the single would have to be London producer Shur-I-kan’s funky take on Undetected. Upping the tempo and adding a little energy to the track Shur-I-Kan drags it straight to the dancefloor. Thick synth bass and a flowing Disco groove power this track along, taking Anton’s smooth vocals long for the ride. Also Pioneerball reMix The Universe Made Of Darkness’ ode to the early 90s 1991. Choosing to ignore the track theme, Pioneerball instead conjure up a pitch perfect late 70s Funk take on the track. The whole reMix collection is a nice compliment to the album, check it out.

♫ Tesla Boy – Undetected (Shur-I-Kan reMix)

♫ Tesla Boy – 1991 (Pioneerball reMix)

Tesla Boy’s Undetected single, is out now.

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Aug 19 2013

[MP3] Wolf Saga reMixes Iggy Azalea’s ‘Bounce’

Canadian producer Wolf Saga just can’t keep his hands off of Iggy Azalea’s tune, can he? Thankfully it’s to all our benefit as his obvious love for the source material allows him to create these amazing ElectroPop, SynthWave, Hip Hop mashups that just work. We have no idea how they work, but the just do.

So, who’d have thought some lush 80’s synths, Dreamwave beats and sparking leads would have married up perfectly with Iggy’s dirty south flow? No-one? Well Wolf Saga does and for the second time, this time with Bounce, he delivers swirling, nostalgic synths and a steady retro groove that is so intertwined with the vocals that, again, it;s hard to imagine they weren’t always supposed to be line this. More upbeat than his previous Iggy mix, Work, Wolf Saga’s take on Bounce is a summer afternoon hit.

♫ Iggy Azalea – Bounce (Wolf Saga reMix)

Iggy Azalea’s Bounce is out now.

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Aug 19 2013

[Audio] Futurecop! & Patrick Baker’s ‘Living In A Daydream’

Dreamwave heroes Futurecop!’s new tune, featuring retro ElectroPop’s man of the moment Patrick Baker on vocals, starts off sounding like Shiny Toy Guns. It’s doesn’t keep sounding like Shiny Toy Guns, but those opening few bars are enough to hook you in to this massive ElectroPop epic.

In fact, there’s a lot about Living In A Daydream that throwsback to that certain crop of early-to-mid 2000’s electronic Emo bands, but with added big room synths and Progressive House sensibilities. Big leads and rousing pads fill the track to bursting point while Baker eschews his usual soulful vocal take for something a little more energetic and Poppy. The end result is fun, youthful, slightly nostalgic, but utterly optimistic. Power ElectroPop at it’s finest.

♫ Futurecop! (Feat. Patrick Baker) – Living In A Daydream

Futurecop!’s new album, Hopes, Dreams & Alienation is released 31st August.

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Aug 16 2013

[Audio] DW’s ‘Nine Lives’ EP (+ reMixes from Mille, Johan Agebjörn & Le Prix and Flashworx)

As well as being one of the top futurist graphic designers in the game (you’ll have seen his work gracing countless electronic music releases cover art), Kilian Eng is also one half of Swedish SynthWave ElectroPopers DW alongside Amir Zaino. This EP seems to have taken, literally, years to be see the air, but that just makes this week’s release all the more sweet, and when you see the reMix line-up (Johan Agebjörn & Le Prix, Flashworx, Indiscreet and fucking Mille!) it makes this EP all the more sweet.

The EP kicks off with it’s title track, a track that really settles you into the tone of the EP. With five minutes to play with, DW bring a vintage SynthPop arrangement with retro future synths and a particularly Swedish set of vocals. Anthemic and uplifting, the track delivers all you could want from a nostalgic SynthPop tune. Parallel Persons takes things in a slightly heavier direction with a rolling Electro beat and a more enigmatic atmosphere. The surprising thing about this release is that is seems to have more in common with 80s SynthPop than the current SynthWave sound that you instinctively associate DW with (mainly due to the use of their artwork), there’s no big Outrun tunes here, this is pure vintage synthetic Pop, pitch perfectly produced. Razorblades and You And Me continue this theme, delivering rich, emotional, slightly chilly electronic music. Johan Agebjörn & Le Prix go full on Scandinavian ElectroPop with their reMix of Nine Lives, loading on on high calorie beats and swirling synths while Flashworx’s reMix of Parallel Persons goes in a more moody direction with an energetic Italo tune. They eyebrow raising inclusion here is a reMix from Swedish SynthWave genius Mille, on of our favourite producer who in recent years has had his attention occupied by his current band Autostrada, but returns to some of that Mille goodness to reMix You And Me, bringing his trademark ChipTune-esque Dreamwave ElectroPop energy to the EP and playing out the release in fine style, epic string breakdown included. A highly recommended EP..

♫ DW – Nine Lives

♫ DW – Parallel Persons

♫ You And Me (Mille reMix)

♫ DW – Nine Lives (Johan Agebjörn & Le Prix reMix)

♫ DW – Parallel Persons (Flashworx reMix)

DW’s Nine Lives EP is out now.

Buy DW’s music from:

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Aug 14 2013

[MP3] Goldroom covers Elliot Smith’s ‘St. Ides Heaven’

So, kicking off this article professing our ignorance. We have no idea who Elliot Smith is. Maybe it’s a being-from-the-UK thing and he never really made it over here, we don’t know, it doesn’t happen to us much. One person who is very much aware of Elliot Smith, though, is Josh from Goldroom, who cites him as one of his songwriting idols, and anyone who led Josh to the kind of songwriting he has crafted for NightWaves and Goldroom is OK by us.

Goldroom have covered Elliot Smith’s tune, St. Ides Heaven, launching into the track with shuffling purcussion and bring arpeggios, which seems odd in comparison to the slightly sombre acoustic folk of the original (yes, we did some research!), but Goldroom just make it work as they make the song their own. Taking an obviously emotionally charged song and weaving it int his trademark mix of LA sunshine House and Sea-faring Disco, Goldroom delivers a real rush of a track, letting the music balance the passion of the vocals. Goldroom have a new EP, Embrace, out in November and are embarking on a US tour to bring the EP to the masses, including a very special show on 8th November at the Glass House in California with out very own Let Em Riot! Find Goldroom’s tour dates here.

♫ Goldroom – St. Ides Heaven (Elliott Smith Cover)

Goldroom’s Embrace EP is released 9th November.

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Aug 14 2013

[MP3] Night Drive’s ‘Sea Of Light’ (+ Treasure Fingers reMix)

Here’s the new one from Austin based SynthWavePop duo Night Drive. Their second single, following June’s Drones, Sea Of Light sees the duo take on a much more commercial Indie-Electro sound, quite a way divorced from the Dreamwave of their début. The single comes packaged with a top collection of reMixes from names like Justin Faust, Elektromekanik, Kulkid and Treasure Fingers.

Sea Of Light is all about the big, Stargate-esque, early 2000’s synth riffs and gangly summery Indie guitar riffs. Having more in common with the likes of like Van She than Miami Nights 1984, Sea Of Light is perfectly primed to explode as a summery hit. This is one for good times with good friends. The mighty Treasure Finger’s take on the track is a deep sweeping Disco groover. A bass heavy, funk fuelled, robotic floorfiller. With a nice, laid back, tempo, this mix still makes you want to move, but it;s quite chilled about it.

♫ Night Drive – Sea Of Light

♫ Night Drive – Sea Of Light (Treasure Fingers reMix)

Night Drive Sea Of Light is out now.

Check out more from Night Drive on SoundCloud.

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Aug 13 2013

[Audio] Adeyhawke & Sferro’s ‘Program Tina’

We’re fast approaching the release of Adeyhawke’s new EP, Kodachrome Sundae, via Girlfriend Records. The amount we’ve posted about the EPs tracks, it feels like we’ve been waiting for ages, but now with a release date set for later this month we can have a listen to the releases final track, a collaboration between Adeyhawke and Girlfriend label boss Sferro, Program Tina.

Adeyhawke & Sferro bring the tempo down a bit on this one, exuding laid back, nostalgic, electronic vibes. The best is slow and steady, I’m not going to go so far as to say Dubstep, but it’s in that arena, with heaps of shimmering synths on top. Actually, this is probably the closes thing that exists to DubstepSynthWave, as the track is washed in subtly Dubstep-esque flourishes, all mixed up with some luscious, epic, vintage synthesizer music.