Portuguese SynthWave producer Cosmic Sand is back with a brand new single. The last we heard from this guy was November last year’s Route 375 EP, now he’s sidled over to Future City Records and bring some huge synth sounds with him. Billed as the Find Me At The Bay Tonight EP, the release is really a single consisting of the lead track Find Me and it’s B-side, 9h00, with reMixes supplied by Vincenzo Salvia, Nightcrawler and Dorian.
Find Me is a rich slice of SynthWave with the kind of multi facetted production and musical narrative that draws you in as each minute passes. Built on involving, syncopated, beat that hovers just one step away from Drum & Bass, and ringing vintage synths, Find Me keeps adding fresh elements to the layers of soundtrack synths. Whether bringing in hints of turntablism, unexpected Funk riffs or adding more to the rich, emotional retro keys, Cosmic Sand delivers an enriching experience. The B-side, 9h00, is more traditional SynthWave fare, resonating Italo hooks and a pulsating digital bassline are the order of the day here, whist not as innovative as Find Me, it certainly delivers the SynthWave goods and plays with some intoxicating lead lines. An excellent release from Cosmic Sand, and one you should check out.
♫ Cosmic Sand – Find Me
♫ Cosmic Sand – 9h00
Cosmic Sand’s Find Me At The Bay Tonight EP is out now.
Stop what you’re doing, even if it’s important. The only people authorised to continue with whatever they are up to are people who have others lives in their hands (in which case; get off the internet!). There’s a new single from Orange Country Dreamwave master Let Em Riot. This man is easily one of the most talented ElectroPop producers working today. We know what you’re thinking; are we saying that because we released his SlashWave EP, or did we release his SlashWave EP because we thought that? To which we’d like to counter with “shut up and listen to Let Em Riot’s new single”.
Say What You Need To Say is quintessential Let Em Riot. The big secret of Let Em Riot’s appeal is his knack of being able to mix utterly nostalgic SynthWave music that you can’t help but love with truly heartfelt lyrics that really resonate with people without resorting to cliché or tropes. And that’s exactly what he does here, laying his heart out on a backing of comforting synthesizer music. Nostalgia and emotion, what more do you want from a SynthPop tune? The single also comes equipped with a reMix from another excellent, and increasingly vocal, SynthWave artist, Arcade High, who brings the track in a slightly more traditional Outrun direction with his trademark added ChipTune spice, making the perfect compliment. The single is available on Bandcamp for a fee of name-your-price. You’d better name something that is at least higher than a four…we’re watching you!
♫ Let Em Riot – Say What You Need To Say
♫ Let Em Riot – Say What You Need To Say (Arcade High reMix)
Let Em Riot’s Say What You Need To Say single is out right now!
We tend not to make much of a secret round these parts that Russia Dreamwave ElectroPoppers Tesla Boy are amongst our favourite acts around today. From first discovering them deep in the Outrun community on MySpace they always struck a chord with us, combining out then newfound excitement in this (then) new breed of retro cool SynthWave and out love of vocal SynthPop.
After showing us all what they could do with a killer EP, their début album, Modern Thrills, cemented their reputation for being on of the most talented bands around, whether on the Disco, ElectroPop or SynthWave scene, combining all three styles into one form as catchy and Poppy as it was dancefloor friendly. Inspiring an army of Russian SynthWave acts and kicking off the Russian retro scene, Tesla Boy also brought their brand of vintage DiscoPop to the world on their own terms.
Massively successful in their homeland, with the release of the sophomore album, The Universe Made Of Darkness, Tesla Boy are widening their international appeal with a string of high profile US shows and collaborations with the coolest of House music cats. Tesla Boy head honcho Anton Sevidov to a little time out of their promotional schedule to chat with us about where Tesla Boy came from, where it is and where it’s going.
ER: Let’s take it right back to the beginning. We first became aware of Tesla Boy back in the 2009 MySpace days and your first EP, just prior to being picked up by Mullet Records, what had led you to that point? Had you been in bands before? What attracted you to your retro synth sound?
TB: I have been engaged in music all my life, starting as a jazz pianist. When I was 15, I brought together my first band, and it was so-called acid-jazz, the kind of music we played at that time. Further electronic music carried me away and I arrived at understanding that I really like the 80s sound very much. I began to style my songs in this manner. And next thing what happened – the public was ready to love it.
ER: Speaking of MySpace, the whole Dreamwave and Nu-Disco thing really took off there, do you feel like the social network was a big help to kick starting your career.
TB: Exactly, I really think that social networks made us well-known.
♫ Tesla Boy – Fantasy
ER: And now, you’ve just released your second album, The Universe Made Of Darkness, which had widened your international appeal. How are you feeling now that the album is out in the wild? Were you nervous about “the difficult second album” syndrome?
TB: I thought of the second album syndrome when we started our first tour. I was under the impression that everything is cool – everybody loved our music. At the same time I started to write new songs. And when everything was almost ready I said to myself – Stop it! What about the second album syndrome? You cannot just record it! And I was forced to rewrite it.
ER: We can hear a bit of an evolution of your sound in the second album. How has the way you write changed in the 3 years since Modern Thrills?
TB: I really wanted to add this sensation of a live concert. I did my best to work from my feelings, doing what I really love to do, without paying attention to the style.
ER: Were your influences for this record different from Modern Thrills? (A little more 90s perhaps?)
TB: That was the time of great change worldwide. In 1991 our state split, and freedom was the choice of the time. It was euphoric and painful at the same time. Change is always painful, although necessary. Those were my thoughts when I was writing 1991.
ER: There’s a couple of collaborations on The Universe Made Of Darkness. With Tyson and Fritz Helder From Azari & III. How did these come about and was there anyone you wanted to work with but it didn’t happen?
TB: I met Fritz when Azari & III came to Moscow. At this time it occurred to us to make a track together.
It was Martin who introduced me to Tyson. Marin also worked on his album.
I really would like to work with Erol Alkan. And write a track with Michael McDonald.
♫ Tesla Boy (Feat.Tyson) – Broken Doll
ER: How hook up with Martin Dubkka, your co-producer for the new album?
TB: Martin is a very good musician and our tastes are similar. I really love his style – he is not imposing al all, I like his ideas, and I am happy with our collaboration.
ER: You’ve been playing live a lot in the US recently, how does playing in America compare to playing in Russia? Are the crowds very different?
TB: To tell the truth, there is almost no difference. Probably, it is because the young people is our audience, who look very much alike and similar in different countries. Serbians and Mexicans stand out most of all – they are very hot.
ER: If you were to take us on a night out in Moscow, where would we go? What are the highlights of the Moscow scene?
Strelka-bar, La Boule, Simachev, La Lubanka, The Museum Of KGB, Butirka.
ER: We feature tons of Russian artists on Electronic Rumors (Hot Hot Hawk, 7he Myriads, Serj V, Cosmonaut Grechko, 5 Reasons, Lovinski, Quasars, Sohight & Cheevy, DZA etc…) what is it, do you think, that attracts so many Russian producers to the retro synth sound, and what is it that makes them so good at it (because they really are!)
TB: The Russians are a nation with a very good ear for music. Our heritage is huge – Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, Borodin, Prokofiev. Their music possesses melodic beauty. This probably relates it to the sound of 80s. This background might produce this kind of effect.
♫ Tesla Boy – Another Light
ER: So what’s in Tesla Boys studio? Especially in terms of Synths and outboard gear.
Here’s the video for Kavinsky’s current single, Odd Look, taken from the SynthWavemeister’s excellent début album, OutRun.
Directed by Marcus Herring, the clip continues the adventures of the Deadcruiser as he swoops to the brutal rescue of a diner waitress, dishing out some zombie justice.
It’s been a long time since we heard an original tune from Germany’s finest digitalfoxglove. Mostly, the man has had his attention focused on his work as part of Dreamwave superheroes Ride The Universe, but he still gets the occasional moment to get his solo groove on. He’s gearing up to release a new EP under the digitalfoxglove moniker and last night he dropped our first taste of what’s to come, Daytona.
Daytona is surprisingly SynthWave for producer with some of the slickest Nu-Disco skills on the planet. With not a Disco lick in sight, digitalfoxglove stands shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Mitch Murder and Miami Nights 1984 as he delivers a blistering Outrun tune, a frantic synthesizer speedway loaded with rolling arpeggios and soaring leads. digitalfoxglove takes his pin-sharp production and applies it to the euphoric, emotional rush of a cracking SynthWave tune to soundtrack all your clichéd night drives.
Pacific was LA Dreamwave OG Goldroom’s contribution to Scion Audio/Visual, Sharkwaves Vol. 2 back in November last year. A Vangelis-esque beach oddessy that has now been captured in video form.
The video does what it says on the tin, there’s lots of the Pacific involved. Beautifully shot and edited, it’s the perfect, relaxing, accompaniment to the tune.
Hot on the heels of his massive new single for Diplo’s Mad Decent/Jeffree’s label, Swedish SynthWaver and the lord and master of all things retro synth Mitch Murder has turned his attention to his other love, old school video games. Taking the theme from 1989’s Sega classic Super Hang-On, composed by Katsuhiro Hayash, as his inspiration, Mitch delivers Outride A Crisis a SynthWave ChipTune epic.
Blending Mitch’s trademark FM basslines with shimmering video game melodies makes for a funky combination. Mitch ekes every last drop of emotion out of the track, and these video game track were composed to illicit an emotion response from the player, layering spine-tingling chords and leads. Then the track delivers what it was created for, all this underpinning a crunchy, lengthy, solo, as Mr. Murder gets his synth shred on. That’s what we all came for.
We’ve got to be honest, two albums in one year always raises alarm bells for us. There’s a big danger of quantity over quality with such a packed release schedule, and the feeling that there’s no self-editing going on at the production end. In a day and age where everyone just throws up every single thing the do on the internet, for artists trying to create a buzz there’s a strong chance that releases become so commonplace that no excitement exists anymore. That said, we are big fans of Pittsburgh based SynthWaver Betamaxx, who album Interface from January this year we are still loving, and he has just released a new full length record, titled Sophisticated Technology, on Telefuture.
We were pleasantly surprise to find that Betamaxx has kept up his high quality productions throughout 2013 next 13 tracks. The album launches itself on a collaboration with French synth wizard Tommy, Breakthrough, a track that wears it’s more robotic side of the 80s influences on it’s sleeve. A cavalcade of tweaking arpeggios and laser beam synth lines that, whilst futuristic, leans on the side of the optimistic. Dolby Dance and Zenith are next, a chilled Beach vibe slice of retrowave and a hyperactive Italo Pop tune respectively, both showing off slick arrangements but featuring a slightly out of place muted guitar. Maxximum gets things back on track, a pulsating slab of instrumental RoboPop that is as emotionally resonant as it is playful with it’s twisting lead lines. When Redlining 6th kicks off there’s a slight feeling that it;s all over the place, but that soon reveals itself to be organised chaos as the track descends into pinpoint precision, multi layered, driving SynthWave with a hypnotic solo. The enigmatic synthesizer squeaks of Inside Information lead us to Reel To Reel, featuring Mike McG. A heavy Synth Funk tune that pairs B-Boy beats with ghostly vocoded vocals and a storming lead line, sprinkled with just the right amount of metal dance to give it a machine groove. Chrominance and Memorex Discotheque are both frantic, Outrun style tunes that drive the album toward it’s conclusion of the synthesizer relaxation of New Horizons and hopeful euphoric mood of the album’s final, cinematic, track, Remembrance. Overall Betamaxx has beat the odds and delivered a second amazing album in one year, sure there are some really jarring guitars here and there on the record that largely feel tacked on, and some of the hi-octane tunes are a tad by-the-numbers, but on the whole Sophisticated Technology is more killer than filler and well worth your investigation.
It’s Basti from Germany’s finest Synth lovers Final DJs’ birthday! To celebrate this auspicious occasion the duo have whipped up this luscious reMix of Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks’ Stand Back. It’s an epic vocal that fits in nicely with Final DJs epic synth ethos. Expect hazy electronic vibes.
Loaded with dreamy synths, as thick as you like, this reMix is a multi layers wave of electronic goodness. Waves of rich tones and nostalgic hooks crash over Stevie Nicks husky vocal. With just a hint of Cosmic Disco and Italo amongst the slick SynthWave styled ElectroPop, Final Djs make the track both hazily nostalgia and futuristic at the same time. Retro future beauty from Germany with a soulful American vocal, what more could you want?
The Touch is Mitch at his best, A slick combination of his emotional soundtrack work and his more upbeat Electro Funk stylings. Riding on a solid retro beat and chugging digital bassline, the track wraps the listener in warm waves of lush chords with a slight jazzy swing, complimented by a rocking synth lead. It’s pure nostalgia in five minutes of body moving synthesizer Boogie. Alongside the Lifelike reMix comes a version from Norwegian duo Nite Sprite, who inject the track with a dreamy Disco twist and ripples of shiny melodies and wailing synth solos. Also featured on the release is Race Day, a track we featured a while back. This single is pretty much essential.
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