2015 – NewRetroWave – Stay Retro! | Live The 80's Dream!

Dreams of Getaway Love – Diving into Carly Rae Jepsen’s E•MO•TION

Robin Ono — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 11:00:10 +0000

With the resurgence of eighties pop-culture having marked a fair share of the last decade, the Retrowave community has come to expand and thrive as a fully-fledged postmodernist subculture. Bonded by a devotion to the idyllic neon era of action heroes and brick-sized mobile phones, it does not take long for our scene to embrace and naturally flock around the same cinematographic and musical works for reference, whether old or merely “vintage” in its aesthetic. Films like Drive, Tron: Legacy, Blade Runner 2049 and even Netflix’s Stranger Things series have earned the love of the Retrowave community, while contemporary artists like Chromatics, Starcadian, Danger and Kavinsky have been integrated into its music scene. As clearly outlined as some of the Eighties retro tropes may be, what remains to be defined is what exactly makes a contemporary artist an honorary ‘Retrowave’ act. While the consensus may still differ in different pockets of the online community, I, for one, rejoice in seeing artists and fans collectively celebrate the merits of retro-themed works by indie and ‘mainstream’ artists alike.
In the first of what I hope to be a series of columns highlighting unsung pieces of Retrowave culture, I direct your attention to one of last decade’s most surprising career comebacks.

“[…] Let me tell you a story, a little bedtime fairytale. There was once a girl … No… a young woman, but not just any young woman. This one was special. On the outside, she might even have seemed ordinary. But never judge a book by its cover, and certainly not this one. Because this… is a Cinderella story!”‘

‘Your Type’ (Music Video)

With it’s glossy, glistening eighties sound and aesthetic, Carly Rae Jepsen’s E•MO•TION was released in the summer of 2015 to rave reviews from critics, quickly garnering a cult following despite the album’s poor commercial performance, followed a year later by E•MO•TION Side B, a collection of B-Sides that garnered equal amounts of praise. Returning to the scene no less than three years after her breakout album Kiss, the Canadian pop singer resurfaced after many had long dismissed her as a mere “One-hit Wonder”, defying all expectations with a fifteen-track Synthpop banger. In many respects, E•MO•TION is an album that was born from the pressure and expectations weighing down on Carly Rae Jepsen following her breakout success with the teen-pop megahit ‘Call me Maybe’. Rather than continue riding on the hip party-pop wave and hopelessly measure up to her colossal, record-breaking single, Carly opted for a sound and aesthetic that resonated more closely with her overarching lyrical leitmotiv of unrequited and hopelessly romantic infatuation, delving head-on into a world of neon triangles and midnight city drives.

The album opener ‘Run Away with Me’ kicks off with a triumphant synthetic sax blaring into the distance like a lone wolf howling at an electric blue moon and instantly sets the cinematic and nostalgic tone of the record. Every bit of E•MO•TION is paved by the sounds of gated reverb, smooth scintillating synth melodies and anthemic choruses exploding through your speakers, with each one as catchy and ear-grabbing as the next. Carly Rae Jepsen wears her Cindy Lauper influence on her sleeve, both in interviews and on ecstatic jams such as ‘I Really Like you’, ‘Your Type’ and ‘When I needed You’. The songs have an extra bit of slick, modern production layered atop their retro Synthpop sound, yet somehow strikes a fine line between vintage charm and contemporary pop efficiency. With E•MO•TION Side B, Carly ups the ante and goes even deeper down the Eighties rabbit hole, starting the record off with the sound of a cassette player being turned on and lining up track after track of pure Synth magic. ‘First Time’ is a punchy pop tune with strong Madonna vibes, ‘Store’ is a quirky poke at consumerism as emotional escapism in the age of golden age of Megamalls (Vaporwave, anyone?) and ‘Higher’ is just pure Outrun that doesn’t need to mention cars to sound like pure driving music.

Though some may dismiss E•MO•TION and its EP counterpart as opportunistic and bandwagon-hopping upon first glance, an in-depth look at Carly’s lyrical and musical DNA can be used to foreshadow and explain this match made in heaven that is Eighties music and the ‘Call Me Maybe’ pop sensation. Her previous album, Kiss, while undoubtedly marked by the sound of its time, did contain hints of eighties aesthetics and vibes sprinkled throughout its songs and music videos, as shown on both the Lyric video and Music Video to ‘This Kiss’ or on the song ‘Drive’, released less than a year after the movie of the same name and whose lyrics about escapism through driving will go on to become a recurring trope on E•MO•TION.

Like in Retrowave, the themes, narrative premises and words employed by Carly Rae Jepsen are repeated so often that they become a trademark of hers, a cliché which she openly owns up to on songs like ‘Boy Problems’ on E•MO•TION. Some of you might remember screenwriter Max Landis’ 150-page essay A Scar No One Else Can See, which elaborated on the idea that all of Carly’s songs boil down to the same exact premise of unrequited, naïve and forbidden love and escapist fantasy scenarios with said subject of passion. The sheer dedication to this fixed, fairly innocent premise of “shy girl silently obsessing over her crush” dates way back to her first album and is kept throughout and beyond E•MO•TION. The entirety of E•MO•TION and E•MO•TION Side B can be encompassed by three key themes directly extracted from the Jepsen song premise foundation, with each of them directly tying Carly’s lyrical narrative to the album’s nostalgic eighties sound. These three themes are that of dreams, getaways, and innocent love.

Every moment of fulfilled romance on E•MO•TION and Side B is dreamed, part of a fantasy conjured up by Jepsen to escape the reality that her romantic interest is unattainable for one reason or another. The title-track ‘Emotion’ perfectly exemplifies this, as it portrays her wishing that her love interest ends up growing obsessed with her, as the song’s opening lines plainly state: “Be tormented by me, babe”. The pre-chorus builds up as she adds that she wants to stop being a mere little ‘flower on the wall’, eventually leading up to the chorus exploding into a catharsis with her wish of becoming all that he thinks about in his own dreams and fantasies.

The theme of fantasy and dreams holds a very close relationship to child-like innocence and thus directly references nostalgia. As with Retrowave perpetuating the sound and tradition of eighties Synth-pop, the blurred temporality of dreams and their tendency to bring us back to our early memories creates a feeling of “atemporality”. Such nostalgic dreams of time past are mentioned in songs like ‘When I needed You’ (e.g. “What if we could go back?”, “You come to me in dreams at Night”) and ‘Your Type’, where Carly reminisces a time long gone: her lover has moved on and is seeing someone else, while she wishes they could go back to the place where they first met.

Amongst these dreams of idyllic romance, one notable Retrowave trope makes a recurring appearance: that of escaping into the night in a car. While ‘Run Away with Me’ hints at driving off to escape the party Carly and her lover are stuck at, ‘Gimmie Love’ opens up with a lone midnight drive past her crush’s place. ‘Let’s get Lost’ is about a slow drive through the night and ‘Cry’ on Side B sees Carly waking up only to see the headlights of her lover’s car driving off. If these mentions of lone, emotionally stoic love interests at the wheel don’t make your head peak up like a young gosling, maybe you should take a closer listen to ‘Making the Most of the Night’, where the narrator is speeding through the night, running red lights to care for her (or his?) loved one. If anything, the line “Here I’ve come to hijack you (Hijack you), I’ll love you while we’re making the most of the night” should illustrate the sense of urgency and danger you might need to grasp to unwind this reference.

To touch upon the main, all-encompassing theme in my three-point demonstration, allow me to redirect you to the opening track ‘Run Away with Me’, a song about dreams of love and escapism with a distinctly cinematic feel. If you’ve ever noticed how perfectly this song would fit as a closing theme song in an eighties flick, this might be because of how faithful it is to the “eighties movie theme song” formula. The implied escape by car should also draw your attention to the word “Hero” in the chorus, a cliché referencing back to songs like Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Holding out for a Hero’ on the Footloose soundtrack, Tina Turner’s ‘We don’t need another Hero’ off of the Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome soundtrack, and even College’s ‘A Real Hero’ from that damn film I keep forgetting the name of.

Like the idea of the eighties as seen through the Retrowave filter, the word ‘Hero’ harkens back to a collective unconscious of mythos and fairy-tales and the archetypical ‘heroic figure’, ‘the Knight in Shining Armour’. As decades go by, so does our recollection of the past fade and – as with childhood memories – so do our recollections of simpler innocent times past grow strong with nostalgia. Eighties pop-culture and our early relationship with it as children give us more than enough space to fantasize about simpler, more innocent and optimistic times, where good guys were good guys, bad guys wore bad guy eye-patches and love was pure romantic love. Furthermore, this explains why the dreamy eighties constitute a perfect context and playing ground for Carly Rae Jepsen’s seemingly endless stories of broken love.

What sets Carly Rae Jepsen apart from the rest of her pop music contemporaries is that, whereas many teen-pop idols eventually aim to break with their younger image to move forward as artists (Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber…), she has preserved her child-like, girly personality. Her personality is anything but braggadocious, her sound is very bubbly and colourful, and her music makes her seems more interested in pillow-fighting on hotel beds and dancing her worries away rather than showing herself off and dropping molly at the club. Carly’s personality is one of a girl who refuses to grow up, who refuses to have her glittery, fuzzy dreams and fantasies tied down, which explains why she ends up in the same situation over and over again. Though she openly recognizes the cycle on ‘Boy Problems’ and ‘First Time’, she never betrays her fantasies, effectively keeping the illusion real, so as to keep feeling the warmth of idyllic romantic fairy-tales.

Her obsession with her lovers and crushes is a refusal to let go of the idea of romantic love. Carly Rae Jepsen is never looking out for a potential suitor; she is always after a specific man to whom she desperately wants to be ‘The One’, another very frequent theme in her songs. Through her use of the nostalgia-infused sounds of eighties Pop Music, Carly Rae Jepsen’s music embodies a refusal to let go of the past. It is specifically her naiveté when it comes to relationships that keeps her young, both in her fantasies and to us as listeners. With ‘First Time’, Carly namely brings us back to our first love, a more naïve time. Carly frequently uses child-like terms such as ‘Boy problems’ to refer to relationship issues with the men in her life, or that allusions to sex remain so subtle or tame on the album. For example, Carly evokes the idea of ‘Staying up all night’ on ‘Run Away with Me’, a theme in her songs that plays on a razor-thin ambiguity between cheeky tween girls partying past their bedtime and a more sexual subtext. The album’s main single ‘I Really Like You’, is centred around an extremely repetitive and repetitive chorus that evokes a child’s speech, with “I really really really really really really like you”, as is the case with the use of ‘Gimmie’ on the chorus to ‘Gimmie Love’.

Carly Rae Jepsen is clearly an artist that is plainly dedicated to making pure, cutesy, heart-on-her-sleeve Pop Music, whose scope aims much less at ‘making a statement’ than it does at simply partying your worries and heartaches away. And it is through this escapism through nostalgic throwbacks and innocent dreams of simple idyllic love stories that Carly Rae Jepsen’s album finds itself so unmistakably entangled with the sound that drives Retrowave. E•MO•TION is a celebration of pop music as a powerful vector for nostalgia, allowing our minds to blindly indulge in the most naïve fantasies, regardless of how distant and unattainable they may be. Everything goes, so long as it feels right, and everything goes so long as it sounds this good.

Article by Robin Ono.

TOP 10 SYNTHWAVE ALBUMS OF 2015

Filip Galetic — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 14:37:30 +0000

You don’t need me to tell you that 2015 was the biggest year in synthwave since Drive came out – just as we expertly predicted somewhere around the end of last year.

Countless uh-MAZING compilations, some incredible EPs (shoutout to FM-84!) and of course not one but two cinematic releases mired in retro glory – Kung Fury (did it bomb or not? Tell me what you think in the comments – but wait, read the rest of the article first) and Turbo Kid. There was plenty of retrosynthastic events to occupy you from January to December.

But perhaps where 2015 shined the most is in the immense quality of albums that were released.

These are my top 10 favorites:

10. SELLOREKT/LA DREAMS – On and On

Someone give this guy a trophy! LA Dreams has shown time and again that he is the most prolific synthwave artists out there having released 3 full albums in the last few months ALONE! But this wouldn’t be of interest if these LPs were a disposable cookie cutter trash, oh no! Quite the contrary. Mr Sellorekt somehow manages to dish out albums full of tracks that are each unique and not a slight rework of previous work. On and On is my favorite of the albums he released this year overall. The only gripe? In the effort to get as many albums out the door as possible, the emphasis is not put that much on the overall story and cohesion of each album. But still, these should feed any hungry retrosynth epicure for days.

9. CONFRONTATIONAL – A Dance of Shadows

The dark synthwave subgenre seems to never have been been so crowded. Yet with A Dance of Shadows, Confrontational manages to assert himself a unique auter with a story of his own. Visually, he boldly lets go of the subgenre cliches and replaces them with his own personal expression. Musically, his longing vocals blend nicely with the booming basslines and wailing synth pads and there’s plenty of carpenteresque accents. Most obviously on To Live And Die On The Air where he enlisted Cody Carpenter, the son of the Horror Master himself for help on the lead synth. Favorite track: Like A Curse (Feat. Monte Pittman).

8. DYNATRON – Aeternus

Dynatron latest album, while not necessarily my cup of tea in the aspect of style (a little bit too cold to be my personal favorite) still manages to be “required reading” for any retrowave fan. Its vision, sense of infinite space it conveys and production values are second to none. Mr Jeppe Hasseriis knows what he wants and knows how to get it and he does that with incomparable eye for detail and devotion to his mission.

7. SYNTAX – Island Universe

Sometimes you want to listen to synthwave so you can feel like a brooding anti-hero going on a night rider and facing untold dangers, or to connect with the primal side of you that enjoys the world as depicted in the slasher horrors of the yore. But sometimes you put on an album like Syntax’s debut Island Universe and instead you’re taken on a space journey that both shows you new wonders and rejuvenates you. Equal parts retrosynth, and chilltronica, Island Universe enthralls you with its refined and layered vistas and lets you inhale some fresh synth oxygen.

6. DUETT – Borderline

Due to the extremely busy 2nd half of 2015, I kinda came late to the party that is Duett – Borderline. I did see some of the rave reviews in passing and made a mental note to come back to it and so this list was a perfect occasion to finally take a crack at it.

WHY WASN’T I NOTIFIED OF ITS AWESOMENESS SOONER??

Seriously, this records really stands out with its uniqueness and really mind-blowing melodies and flows. It’s really hard to pick out a track that isn’t a banger and doesn’t stand both on its own feat as well as a part of the overall narrative of the record. The themes are familiar yet presented effortlessly fresh: you might have heard this before but you haven’t heard it like this. Most stylish record of the year for sure.

5. HIGHWAY SUPERSTAR – Endgame

If I was to give out a title for the Most Evolved Synthwave artists of 2015, it would surely go to Alex Karlinsky a.k.a. Highway Superstar. Not that I didn’t like his 2013 Take My Time but it’s just that compared to Endgame it feels like a completely different artist (were it not for Dana Jean Phoenix’s presence to give us a hint). Mr. Superstar not only made a ballsy move to feature his own vocals that paid dividends (VERY reminiscent of Phil Collins’ best days), but also embraced the pop side with a gusto and added some middle eastern flavored memories (he hails from Israel). The endgame: a self-assured, masterly produced record that will shine even more in the next spring/summer season.

4. GUNSHIP – Gunship

Probably one of the most ambitious releases in the history of synthwave (does Synthwave have a history? Funny to talk about it since not many can even agree what should be the name of the genre and what it is and what it’s not – perhaps that’s a good thing?) and definitely among the most hotly anticipated LPs in 2015, Gunship just about delivered on the promise of The Big Synthwave Record. The boys showed they are able to shape memorable synth landscapes that deconstruct old tropes and the emotional lyrics uttered by the charismatic Dan Haigh helped bring in the wider audiences that the band unabashedly aims to conquer.

3. TREVOR SOMETHING – Death Dream

As I wrote in my recent review, Trevor Something returned in 2015 with a vengeance. He not only expanded but also transcended the myth of a faceless womanizing producer and showed us new sides to who he is. This expertly paced album works both as a personal confession and edgy party background. Absolute cutting edge of the retrosynth scene as far as I am concerned. Favorite tracks: The Possession and Analogue Soul.

2. LE MATOS – Chronicles Of The Wasteland / Turbo Kid Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Le Matos’ ultra epic double side album acts as both a standalone release and the soundtrack to the much anticipated Turbo Kid film. It would deserve to be on this list for its sheer size and ambition alone – if it wasn’t also one of the best produced, effortless, most consistent releases on the scene EVER. I somehow missed the 2013 “Join Us” LP until recently. But with this album the Montreal duo belongs on my – and anyone’s – radar forever. Even if the only track on the album was No Tomorrow feat. Pawws it would still end up here.

1. TIMECOP1983 – Reflections

I’ve never felt the need to spell it out so far in my reviews, but I belong to the school of thought that music reviews are inescapably both objective and personal affairs. And nowhere has this been proven better so far than with this summer’s Timecop1983 LP. Released right around the time my grandma died and during my summer holiday in Barcelona, it served as a perfect backdrop to the sun-bathed emotional rollercoaster that played out that month. Sorry (not sorry) guys – I can no longer see this as just another synthwave release, it’s too interwoven with the fabric of my life. If pressed I would have to say the following about it though:

· Perfect blend of instrumentals and sweeping vocal tracks

· All the vocalists are unique in their own way and bring out a different tonality to Timecop’s consistently superb instrumentals

· Full of heady summer anthems both uplifting and melancholic that touch your inner core if you let them

· Timecop1983 distills all that’s good about the genre and bakes it into one breathtaking journey (and he never bombards your ear to prove his a pro producer either)

· Let’s Talk feat. Josh Dally. Need I say more?

I never really got into Timecop1983’s Journeys LP but he totally won me over with this one. This is an album I’ll be listening when I’m 72.

NOTABLE MENTIONS:

Kristine “Kristine” – a beautiful love letter to the 80s female rock from Athens

Action Jackson “Miami Kill” – a renegade cop takes on the world in this solid LP that tells a story expertly

Ludrium “Pleasure of a False Past” – prog rock meets synths heavily infused with 16-bit video game nostalgia

Betamaxx “Plug & Play” – the ultimate album by one the scene’s greats

Kung Fury OST- Closest we got to a full blown Mitch Murder release this year + Lost Years + The Hoff

MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2016:

Miami Nights 1984

FM-84

Jordan F – Timelines (out 1 Jan 2016 on NRW Records: https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/timelines)

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Top 10 Newcomers of 2015

Rhys Pearce — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 15:48:29 +0000

10. ZVNE

https://soundcloud.com/zvnemusic

I really love the bitter sweet tone of the track ‘Landing’ and its unusual that a single song manages to reel me in as well as this one did. I’m really excited about the debut full length and anticipating something great when ZVNE shares more with us.

9. Coca Boa

https://soundcloud.com/newf-3

Canadian, Coca Boa, first caught my attention following his amazing cover of Gotye’s ‘Somebody that I used to know’. Blending synth with elements of House, the sound is fresh and rousing.

8. Arcade Summer

http://arcadesummer.bandcamp.com/

Bringing sunshine and good vibes, as well as some brilliantly complex pieces of music, Arcade Summer is a new electro force hailing from Australia. We’ve been waiting eagerly for something new from our friends down under and its finally arrived!

7. Moondragon

http://moondragon.bandcamp.com/

Orlando based Troy Simpson, creates incredibe synth music inspired by machines and those who pilot them. Its a rad concept and I have my fingers firmly crossed that he’ll get the call up to write a soundtrack to the new Top Gun movie because he would totally own it!

6. Maniac Lover

http://maniaclover.bandcamp.com/

Straight outta Moscow, Maniac Lover aka Kane Gybrid is a Russian bad ass making some incredibly dark and intriguing synth music. His brand of retro Sc-fi is ominous and likely to keep your heart pacing long after the music has stopped.

5. Floydshayvious

http://floydshayvious.bandcamp.com/

The hardworking Floydshayvious released 3 awesome EP’s during 2015. The Atlantan fuses vast synth soundscapes with retro video game influences, producing music that is incredibly thought out and progressive.

4. LGHTNNG

http://lghtnng.bandcamp.com/

I reviewed LGHTNNG a couple of months ago and I really liked them from the get go. This 3 piece from The Netherlands are another notch on the belt for the European Synth pop scene, which is currently going from strength to strength.

3. Pylot

https://soundcloud.com/pylot_music

Pylot is perhaps one of the most talked about artists within the Synth scene at the moment, with all the mystery surrounding the person(s) involved in the project being the question on everyone’s lips. Each musical release lends itself as part of unfolding story /puzzle that the listener is invited to piece together themselves. Its truly an inspirational project and is something I look forward to following.

2. Foret De Vin

https://soundcloud.com/foretdevin

The incredibly energetic & heartfelt sounds from Sweden’s, ‘Foret de Vin’ take me back to those huge pop tracks heard in movies from the 80’s. You can guarantee that chick’s around the world have already dreamt about having the track ‘Carol’ serenaded to them at a ‘Foret De Vin’ show. Currently making a big splash within the retro scene at the moment, shits gonna go off when a full length record finally drops.

Signal Noize

1. Gunship

http://gunshipmusic.bandcamp.com

The London based Producer has an almighty sound nailed down and its hard not to be engulfed by the energy projected from his music. The buzz is currently huge surrounding Gunship and his debut record is turning a lot of heads, scoring him legions of new fans along the way. Need I mention that THE John Carpenter guests on the debut release!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all you Retro Lovers!

Top 10 Retrowave Tracks of 2015

bryan.eddy@newretrowave.com — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 14:29:24 +0000

2015 has been an incredible year for music, and retrowave is no exception. A lot of amazing material has been produced, and interest in the genre has continued to grow. Our fearless leader has given me the pleasure of presenting the ten best tracks we’ve heard this year. We chose these songs not only by our own taste, but yours as well. We looked at what got the most buzz on YouTube, social media, and elsewhere. Without further ado, let’s get to listening!

#10: Sonic Mayhem – Futureland (feat. Power Glove)

This combination effort is a real thumper. Gently mean and brutally steady, it has a great, cold atmosphere. I especially like the voice samples and the thoughtfully chosen lead instrument. The overall effect is slightly spooky but surprisingly bright.

#9: Stellar Dreams – Dimensions

Delightful female vocals and authentic, old-school synth sounds here. Respectably solid effort from Stellar Dreams, who has a reputation for quality work. The breakdown/bridge in the middle of the song is especially well-executed.

#8: Zombie Hyperdrive – Gigawatt

There’s certain synthwave tracks that make me imagine jumping in my coupe/hovercar/starship and just peeling out into the unknown to find the One True Dream. This is one of them. I don’t just like it because it’s on the Magnatron album, but I’m very happy it’s on the Magnatron album. This song is everything pure retrowave should be: desperately hopeful, energetic, full of electricity. Not to mention that guitar break is OUTSTANDING.

#7: Dance With the Dead – Skeletons in the Attic

What can I even say about DWTD that hasn’t been said a hundred ways already? This track is driving, sharp, and hot. Just a few drops of darkness is enough to set the tone, but the track has such energy! DWTD is consistently high-quality.

#6: Raydar – Night of the Dead

Raydar has really impressed me, climbing darkwave’s ladder and adding depth and dimension as he goes. Some of the bigger names in the subgenre have really skewed away from the “retro” aspect, but Raydar hits a home run with this entry to the list. This bruiser has just enough grind and crunch to make you feel delightfully mean inside, but it’s airy and very 80s, too. We’re not drowned in distortion; we’re given a balanced serving of our daily destruction. A good example of dark retro synth done right.

#5: Daniel Deluxe – Star Eater

This song is a good example of a fantastic mid-tempo synthwave track. It’s a steady, unstoppable march that builds in intensity but never goes over the top. Daniel Deluxe consistently puts out good work, and this is no exception.

#4: STARFORCE – Age of Nano

Excellent feel here, half outrun and half dark. Appropriate for any iteration of the dark future. STARFORCE is a talent I’ll be keeping an ear out for more of in 2016! Simple but elegant melodies and fantastic drums.

#3: Confrontational – Like a Curse (feat. Monte Pittman)

A DANCE OF SHADOWS by CONFRONTATIONAL

I reviewed Massimo Usai’s album earlier this year. I have to confess something: I normally really don’t like vocals in synthwave music. However, the entirety of A Dance of Shadows has these amazingly haunting vocal lines that have made me reconsider. Not to downplay the instrumentation or the drums, but the singing really locks this together. If I were going to pick a single to represent the album, it’d be this song. Massimo, if that’s you singing, keep singing, man. Keep singing.

#2: Atrey – Dark Prince

Somber and brooding, this track nonetheless packs tremendous power. The professionalism and sharpness leave me near speechless. The sound is vast and sprawling, and every little detail you hear is done just as it ought to have been. More great guitar, some excellent sampled voices, and an arrangement that builds and climaxes like a good movie. There’s nothing not to like.

#1: Miami Nights 1984 – Accelerated

This track perfectly captures that cool 80’s feel we all hunger after as retrowave listeners. It has been overwhelmingly popular, which is why it easily won the race and held its pole position at #1. Miami Nights 1984 has been a top producer for a good while, and this is another stellar example of his work. It’s exactly what it should be. It’s got frenetic energy wrapped in a shell of pure cool.

Here’s hoping next year brings us just as many (if not more) spectacular retrowave tracks! 2016 will be a big year for us, and we’re sure it’ll be one for you too!

The Top 10 Most Impactful Moments of 2015

NewRetroWave — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 17:51:51 +0000

Let’s start of by saying that 2015 has been a MAJOR year for the Retrowave scene. Spanning from the introduction of new sub-genres to certain songs making their way into television and the big screen, to gaming, Retrowave has exceeded last years accomplishments and has never been so alive! So we can now showcase all the most impactful moments the scene has had this year.

There have also been some MAJOR upsets that have hit the scene hard this year, but we want to focus on all the positives and revel in Retrowave! Sit back and witness the top 10 most impactful moments in 80’s revival and Retrowave culture.

10. Taylor Swift acknowledges RWR’s Freshness.

This was entertaining, and RWR is the man for catching her attention! Not an easy task in an online world that is so saturated! This daring feat brought some well deserved attention to RWR and helped to trickle in a few more female listeners for the scene to cater to!

9. Hotline Miami 2 Sountrack

This has been a huge directive force for the scene. Many of the fans this year found out about the scene through this games monster soundtrack including Perturbator and Megadrive. It deserve a mention on our list.

8. Turbo Kid

Another gore movie with deep retro roots hit our screens this year. Turbo Kid not only spanned a cult following in a short period of time, but it also boasts an immense soundtrack composed by the amazing Le Matos. If you haven’t seen it, please do so. It is worth it.

7. The Synthwake wiki resurfaces

Finally!!! Please feel free to edit this wiki page and make it everything we ever desired!! Shameless promotion and all! 😉 Lets build this legacy people!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthwave

6. Key and Peele Aerobic Sketch

This GIF says it all. One of the most hilarious sketches these guys have put together. The snapping necks skit was also a close 2nd to this. lol. Key & Peele successfully spoofed an already hilarious “NationalAerobic Olympics” viral video on YouTube, and because of this brought in a flock of new 80’s nostalgia seekers into the scene.

5. Gunship’s Music Videos

GUNSHIP single-handedly owned the music videos of 2015 for the Retrowave scene. Quality production and editing really made this project stand out and get a well deserved mention on this list. You have to see these 4 videos to understand the levels of awesomeness!

4. Moonbeam City

Comedy Central

It’s amazing how much the scene has reached people this year. Another outlet that is attracting people to Retrowave is Moonbeam city. A slick comedy on Comedy Central which literally came out of nowhere and made a firm footstamp in CC’s line up. The music from the show may not be as “Synthwavey” as we would like, but the 80’s Nagel visual aesthetics, witty dialogue and overall execution really reaches the core of the retro lover and we couldn’t be more thrilled with this show. Moonbeam City brings back the fun from the 80’s and opens up a whole new world for the Retrowave scene to be discovered. We were very fortunate to talk with the creator of Moonbeam City and hope this gets a 2nd Season.

3. Power Glove EP 2

This release caused a LOT of controversy about PG’s direction. Too many fans wanted 80’s synth, but PG created something completely new and unprecedented in the scene. This effortless fusion of 80’s – 90’s electronic club and cyberpunk influence set PG aside from all artists yet again. Power Gloves sound is probably the most influential sound in the scene. They have influenced Lazerhawk, Mega Drive and many more Synthwave artists you listen to today. This direction definitely shook up the scene, opened up more doors for sub-genres, and gave more artists encouragement to be experimental with their sounds. Wonder what new sounds we will be hearing in 2016.

2. Florian Renner’s “Retrowave” Video.

This video embodies everything that is retro-cyberpunk retro-future. The visuals are so astounding that we promise it will leave you in complete awe. This video set a new bar for video creators and editors in the scene. This quality is unmatched!!

1. Kung Fury

Everything about this project screams a HUGE success and accomplishment for 80’s nuts. From the movie, to the soundtrack, to the even more incredible music video, Kung Fury OWNED 2015 hands down. The success and attention Kung Fury received really helped to bring in an ENOURMOUS fresh new set of fans and retro admirers into the scene. Kung Fury was so essential to the scene growing this year that David deserves a HUGE award for this.

Kung Fury #WINNING

Kung Fury was a visual, and audio masterpiece that still continuous to bring new people into the scene. Let’s hope a full length sequel in in the midst!

Honorable mention:

Back To The future Day. A very memorable and monumental day, not only for the Retrowave scene, but for the world!!!

Trevor Something – Death Dream

Filip Galetic — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 13:54:22 +0000

Nearly two years after his debut single, we still don’t know a lot more about Trevor Something’s true identity. However, on his third LP, Death Dream, that was just released, we are allowed a small glimpse into who he REALLY is.

While the first two albums served to flesh out the foundation for his mythos of a faceless, promiscuous, party-weary producer that came from the dead, this third one sees Trevor step further into the dark parts of his soul and offers his findings to the world.

It gives a human touch to his synthetic persona and – it should be said right away– makes for one of the top synthwave albums of the year.

This year was one of the strongest yet for the retro synth scene, yet expectedly there’s a lot of forgettable material too. Trevor Something blows all that out of the water with a sound that is as much a quintessential example of the genre, as is personal and his very own.

At a time when the scene has probably never seen so many producers and releases, Death Dream comes as a soothing breath of fresh air and really reinforces Trevor as lone-wolf in a league of his own among the dime-a-dozen me-too productions.

The album opens up with the haunting rhyme of If I Die and you immediately know you’re not in the sex, drugs and discotheque zone anymore. “If I die tonight in my sleep, I prey (sic) the lord my soul to take”, croons Trevor and you can feel chills going up your spine.

Could Trevor be turning religious? Ah, but no: “But if I already lost my faith, Would it be to late?“, he adds. Still, this is probably the first time we’re seeing Trevor this vulnerable and it immediately changes the paradigm.

The Possession segues from the opener nicely, and while Trevor contemplates the nature of one of his relationships, playing on the double meaning of the word „possession“. All the while, musically we’re in the dark synth territory, with a rumbling, sawblade-ish bass and the feeling of being at an abandoned industrial plant.

Brain Waves immediately breaks the mold, keeping just the overall dark tones but doing away with percussion altogether. The scene we might envision is of the shuddering realization of being the last person on Earth. Maybe Trevor is saying that’s price of being a living myth: being completely alone in the world?

With The Touch of Your Skin we’re back in the more club-ready waters. With the bassline that might have been borrowed from Perturbator, Trevor assumes the role of a predatory observer serenading his object of his desire.

Someone newer to Trevor’s modus operandi might be slightly annoyed with his monotone, droning vocals but at a certain point you accept it as one of the basic principles when you enter his world. His vocals are not so much vocals in the traditional pop song sense, but an instrument track in its own right that can be just appreciated for it’s color and consistency.

It sounds insincere giving someone this much praise, but Trevor really doesn’t hesitate with switching things up and playing with expectations. The following track, Artificial Feelings, shows the more melodic side to his new shadowy sound but with plenty of unexpected chops and breaks and a playful attitude towards atonality.

It’s nice to see someone not just emulating the core of what makes up the synthwave sound, but also not being afraid to deconstruct it and use it as something new.

Run Away gets closest to the club sound and definitely steers away from the tenets of the genre. It sounds more like a bonus track from Power Glove’s second album. This is a track you would hear in a dark cyberpunk disco.

Your Sex is a Dream, previously released as a single and as part of the The 80’s Dream Compilation Tape – Vol. 3 by NewRetroWave, is the most conventional basic-Trevor track of the album.

But it serves only to trick you as it’s immediately followed by the uber trippy Analogue Soul. The equally trippy album teaser video featuring this track is still haunting me weeks after it appeared. Who did we see in that vid by the way? Was it really Trevor? The track itself really shows the playful side of Trevor what with the disturbing pitch change that goes well with the stalker lyrics.

Can You Feel It is another typical Trevor number, a track celebrating debauchery and the sensory pleasure of drugs.

And right after that we’re back in the indescribable territory, with what seems to be a deconstruction of the phone ring sound and plays – unintentionally? – as a throwback to Hotline Miami.

Staring at the Sun and No One Knows Your Name are two chillwave-ish tracks that come next and drive us to the end of the album. It seems appropriate to start closing the album with a track called Trip where Trevor beckons you/me/them to come on a lil old road trip with him – only to realize we’ve been on a very, very unique trip for the last 40 or so minutes.

The very last track, is an abrupt return into the darker vestiges of Trevor’s soul. It seems despite the euphoria displayed only a couple of tracks ago, there’s something darker behind Trevor’s self-destructive escapades. Could we be seeing something like… regret? The wish to be saved? At the very least Trevor seems to have come to terms he does need a little bit more: someone or something.

Not as a producer though, as with this release Trevor deeply entrenches himself as a “gold standard of synthwave” to quote a YouTube commenter.

Trevor’s a producer who knows very well what he is doing and is not afraid to go his own way. In my review of his Does not Exist album, I said it would be interesting to see where we’ll go next in the Trevor Something saga, and I’m glad to report he seems to have accepted the challenge – and delivered too.

9/10 Stars

Death Dream by Trevor Something

COMMUNITY RATINGS

Duett – Borderline (2015)

Andrew Zistler — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 19:24:24 +0000

You’re never supposed to judge an album by it’s cover, but from the first moment my eyes graced upon the pastel, sunset soaked artwork of Duett’s “Borderline”, I knew this album was going to be exceptional. Something about the washed out, pale, not-so-neon colors seemed to spark my memory, transporting me back to a different time long gone, almost forgotten – and I hadn’t even heard the first track!

“Borderline” is Duett’s second full length release, captained by UK based producer Ben Macklin and featuring some outright stellar vocals from Stewart Lockwood. Each song is a shining example of production perfection, crafted with light and often glamorous crystalline synthesizers.

Largely down tempo, this album seems to bleed a relaxed late 80’s west coast vibe from beginning to end, regardless of which track you choose. The period tonality which is so solidly cemented in this release is unsurprising, given Macklin chose to only use a small number of synths and drum machines which were released over the middle and late 80’s.

In spite of sharing a certain tonal quality, each piece of this album delivers in it’s own special way. My favorite standouts are the rainy VHS intro and quickly echoing synths of the opening track ‘Atlas’, the odd drums and atmospheric melodies in “Touch” and the bright brass stabs and Jam & Lewis inspired groove in ‘Provision’.

The two songs featuring Steward Lockwood’s vocals, ‘Julienne’ and ‘Running Scared’ are also easily standouts on the album. Each one of these vocal pieces seem to have traveled back through time to create a truly well defined release that fills all the nostalgic gaps.

In spite of being an ocean fueled relaxation romp, no proper synthwave album would be complete without at least a couple driving up-tempo ground pounders. You can find that here in ‘The City’ and ‘Channel’ – thought both still retain the relative shiny and somewhat joyous tonal quality of the album.

Go grab a listen of this synthetic synthwave wonder-piece as soon as you can. There are plenty of producers delving into sci-fi or horror synthwave with intense, blasting basslines. This album is a much welcomed bright beach vacation from the everyday synth grind.

Borderline by Duett

COMMUNITY RATINGS

The Turbo Kid (2015)

Sam HaiNe — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 17:23:59 +0000

The Turbo Kid is a 2015 Canadian film starring Munro Chambers (Degrassi), Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside (Scanners), Edwin Wright, Aaron Jeffery and Romano Orzari. Written and directed by François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell; yes, not one, not two but three directors.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future in the wastelands of, what used to be, America is a civilization on the brink. People barter and trade junk and scrap. Warlords lead gangs of wildling sociopaths. The food is limited and the earth is scorched if not radioactive. And it’s a blessing to watch it all happen.

Young Eli Goldsworthy, I’m sorry. I mean “The Kid”, after the destruction of Degrassi High School and modern civilization is left to his own devices. He is alone in a barren desolate world. His only escape is his imagination and the adventures of Turbo Rider.

The wastelands are ruled by Zeus. Zeus’ minions patrol the lands enforcing his will on their BMX bikes, killing anyone who questions to defy the new order of things. Zeus’s second in command is the cosplay inspiring Skeletron; a circular saw shooting killer with no face and no dialogue invoking the ambiguity of Boba Fett.

Our protagonist is an introverted survivor who has a chance meeting with a young woman named Apple who may or may not be sane. They slowly form a very genuine friendship as the film progresses until our young would be hero finds a power gauntlet and a crashed command ship. What follows is blood soaked and caked in violence.

This movie surprised me because I was expecting a drenched rag of nostalgia and joke after joke after joke. But to my surprise this movie actually had some heart and consistency to it. It wasn’t an excuse to throw around dated genre jokes. You actually kind of had to pay attention to it. There was humor but no jokes, which is a good thing.

On a scale of personal approval I would place this film closer to the greatness that was Hobo with a Shotgun and farther from Kung Fury. Yes, it’s better than Kung Fury.

The film looks good; a little bit of Cyborg and that film where Rutger Hauer played a cyborg battling other cyborgs mortal combat style. The acting is adequate to the material. Michael Ironside is always fun to watch. But Laurence Leboeuf actually steals majority of the scenes she’s in and serves as the heart of the story and focus of all the emotional struggles that our hero must endure.

The soundtrack by Jean-Philippe Bernier and Jean-Philippe Bernier serves to enhance the scenes not overwhelm them. There is nothing to complain about this film sonically.

The gore is magnificent and rightly erupts on screen at appropriate cues like pyrotechnics at a Great White concert.

The Turbo Kid is fun, it’s sweet and has merit. It may be difficult to find at your local theater if you happen to live somewhere in the boonies. But, I’m sure you can find it on your cable demand channels or online. However, if you can spend a few bucks to see this film you should cuz it’ll be a few bucks well spent on a good hearted film.

So go charge your blasters. Ride your bikes into the future. Save your water and precious metals. Store your water. Keep your skulls in your toy chest, ummm… And keep your fingers on that damn Rewind Button.

Meet Scott Gairdner – The Man Behind Moonbeam City

Sam HaiNe — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 18:14:12 +0000

Scott Gairdner is a comedy writer, director, and sometimes performer from Woodland Hills, CA. He’s the creator and executive producer of Moonbeam City. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Scott got his start with a popular Youtube channel, launched in 2006. His videos have amassed over 16 million views and his work was featured in the New York Times. From 2010 to 2012, Scott was a staff writer and director at Funny Or Die, the popular spoof-and-goof website founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. In 2012, Scott was hired to write and direct for Conan on TBS. He shot dozens of sketches, including the cold opens for Conan’s specially-themed episodes with the casts of “Breaking Bad”, “The Walking Dead”, and “Sons of Anarchy”.

First, let me begin by thanking you, Mr. Gairdner on behalf of everyone at NewRetroWave for taking the time to answer some questions for us. I’ve just finished watching the first episode and I enjoyed myself from beginning to end.

1.) So what inspired you to create an 80’s themed animated series?

My overly-nostalgic brain had been simmering a thick stew made of Prince and Tron and Jem and the Holograms and EPCOT Center and Miami Vice and Back to the Future 2. Then I saw Drive in the theater, and that hit the fuse and made my brain stew explode out of my skull-pot. I knew immediately I wanted to create a character like Ryan Gosling’s driver, only much more selfish and stupid.

I’d also always dreamed of working with Titmouse, the studio that made Metalocalypse. Thankfully, the team at Titmouse ended up being as cool and insane as I’d hoped. And they executed my vision of a world where everything is neon with pastel squiggles.

2.) The character designs of Moonbeam City are very crisp, clean and really stand out from the other animated series on television. What was the brainstorming behind the visuals for the show? Was the Patrick Nagel’s style you’re first choice or were there other ideas that didn’t make the cut?

We knew we wanted incredibly handsome, chiseled, fashionable people. And we wanted to tribute weird 80s cartoons that are more human than cartoony, like Jem and the Holograms and Captain Planet. And there was a nail salon around the corner from my house, with pale angular people staring intensely from their sun-bleached window.

We also tried the characters with yellow skin and spiky hair. But the results made us say “Ay caramba!”

3.) How did you get this cast together and on board with the project?

We reached out to Rob Lowe with no connection to him whatsoever, thinking “That will be a fun no to get!” Thankfully Rob Lowe is a very funny weirdo who loves to take creative risks. Not to mention, we agreed to record 5 minutes from his house. With Rob on board, we were confident enough to make a dream cast list that included Elizabeth Banks, Will Forte, and Kate Mara. Shockingly, none of them said no either!

It’s a dream cast. They’re all very excellent committed actors who are also very funny and improvise- the best combo possible. The recording sessions were a pleasure, and we got to see a priceless behind-the-scenes evolution of Will Forte’s Last Man of Earth beard.

4.) Who was the coolest character on Miami Vice?

Phil Collins as the game show host.

5.) Is the animation on Moonbeam City completely digitally or a mixture of hand drawn with computers?

It’s digital but with many hand-drawn moments. If a character needs to do a turn or an action or a sex position we’ve never seen before, the ace Titmouse animators hand-draw specific poses. Once we made a very sweet talented animator hand-draw Dazzle’s penis, flopping around as he sprinted from an explosion. There’s a lot of physics to keep in mind when drawing a big swinging cock.

6.) When did Night Club come into the picture?

Mark Brooks, one-half of superstar electropop duo Night Club, is a director at Titmouse. When I met there, he handed me a Night Club sticker. Their logo was neon pink on black. That was pretty much all I needed to know. Let that be a lesson to any bands reading this- put 90% of your budget towards stickers.

Mark Brooks and Emily Kavanaugh made over 100 original pieces for the first season. Their synths and drums are just crunchy and thumpy and perfect. But they’re also great with melody and pop hooks, and they’re just as good writing a hokey Canadian kids show theme as they are writing a bangin’ club beat. Night Club rules.

7.) “King Dick of the Ass Forest” has to be my favorite line of the first episode. It must be a shitty position. That’s not a question. I’m just thinking out loud, “Oh Fudge”.

When we turned in the pilot, Comedy Central told us two lines needed to be “edgier”. This was one of our edgy rewrites. Pretty edgy, huh??

8.) Dazzle seems to be a mixture of Sonny Crocket and bits of Tango & Cash, Marion Cobretti, with a slight case of Wile E. Coyote syndrome. Is he as much fun to write as he is to watch?

Hell yeah. It’s basically writing super-verbose unnecessarily-poetic dialogue, mixed with really dumb action and sex. And Rob Lowe’s voice is so silky smooth, it makes microphones orgasm.

9.) Any surprise cameos that people should watch out for this season?

Adam West! Catherine O’Hara! Susan Sarandon! Kate McKinnon! Molly Shannon! Andy Richter! Paul F. Tompkins! And Powers Boothe as the devious Mayor Eo Jaxxon.

10.) By any chance does your mug say #1 on it?

Yes but it says #1 Fraud. Just to keep my confidence low enough so I’ll actually keep working.

11.) Being that the show is so drenched with nostalgia, do you have any favorite memories of the 80’s?

First of all, being born. Unlike most people, I remember every disgusting second of it.

Besides that, this whole show is basically a tribute to the dreams and nightmares I had after going to EPCOT Center as a kid. Where my fellow Wonders of Life pavilion fans at?!

12.) What are your reactions to so-called “hipsters” spending top dollar on what they think are cool throwbacks to the decade; unbeknownst to them the crap they buy no one really liked such as British knights? Should we waterboard them?

I’ve heard a lot of men in Japan are getting married to Rubix Cubes, which I think is beautiful.

13.) What turns you on more: Jennifer Connolly riding a horse or Kurt Russel in a dress?

How bout Jennifer Connolly riding Kurt Russell, wearing a horse-hide dress? I think we just cracked the world’s most erotic image.

14.) Will the series consist of individual stories or will each season have an overall arc?

They’re pretty individual episodes, so you can start at pretty much any point. We do have an arc running through the season- the slow devolution of Rad Cunningham. In the pilot, he’s kinda scary. By the last episode, he’s a very sad man-child, who can barely squeeze his flabby shell of a body into his jumpsuit.

15.) If you could secure anyone to be on the show who would it be?

Prince. A thousand times Prince.

16.) Who approached who? Did Comedy Central reach out to you or did you pitch the idea to the network?

We initially wanted to be exclusive to the Quiznos online comedy channel, Toasty.TV. But since they wouldn’t let us show Dazzle diarrhea-ing Quizno’s, we settled on Comedy Central.

17.) How long did it take to complete season 1 of Moonbeam City?

14 months. Almost the same as South Park, just unbelievably longer.

18.) Are there any jokes or references you couldn’t include in an episode?

The fact that Dazzle broke all his bones in a childhood car accident and he’s now made entirely out of rods, which is why he’s so handsome.

19.) Are you having a great time? Is Moonbeam City your main focus at the moment? Do you have any other projects in development that you’d like the retro scene to check out?

Nothing in development currently, but if you like retro stuff, check out my old videos “Sex Offender Shuffle” and “The 1982 Tron Holiday Special”.

20.) Its two in the morning and you are dead asleep. Suddenly you’re startled awake by loud music. Rubbing the sleep dust out of your eyes, you walk over to the window to see what the hell is going on. The first thing you see is a Boom box. Who is holding the boom box – A.) Morrissey, B.) Morton Downey Jr. C.) Mike Tyson D.) A half full pitcher of spiked Kool-Aid? How would you remedy the situation?

I’d vow to quit huffing paint. The hallucinations aren’t worth it.

I would once again like to thank series creator and executive producer Scott Gairdner for taking the time to answer these questions. The show looks amazing and I look forward to every episode of this season. It is very funny and pokes much needed fun on a decade that lacked humility and gave many of us plenty to be inspired by.

Moonbeam City airs Wednesdays on Comedy Central and stars: Rob Lowe, Elizabeth Banks, Kate Mara and Will Forte. Check your local listings for show times. So be easy, be nice, be cool, and keep your finger on that rewind button.

GUNSHIP – GUNSHIP

Filip Galetic — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 15:35:32 +0000

GUNSHIP’s eponymous debut album manages to bridge the divide between a pure synthwave experience and a modern indie rock radio-ready sound.

It’s an ambitious release that will please both the genre purists looking for yet another synth fix and the less niche, general indie rock crowd that enjoys solid songwriting and a good share of angsty lyrics.

If you’re expecting something more orthodox like the King Fury soundtrack or Timecop1983’s latest album, you’re in for a surprise.

GUNSHIP’s (a.k.a. Dan Haigh & Alex Westaway & Alex Gingell) love for all things “80s sound” is evident in every note on the album, but instead of another exercise in style we got something more.

The guys obviously worked with a bigger budget and years of experience as touring musicians (Haigh and Westaway have been in an alternative rock band Fightstar for years) than a typical synthwave producer/artist which makes any real comparisons clunky.

The production of GUNSHIP (the album) is thus impeccable, benefiting from the years of honing tracks the band members racked up.

A strong focus on vocals is evident and that alone makes it a different retro wave release. Vocals are clearly the backbone and centerpiece of every song with synths enveloping them.

In my view, the album shines most when the strong songwriting skills, high fidelity mixing/mastering and the underlying love affair with the 80s style coalesce together to be more than the sum of their parts.

This is the case with the tracks Pink Mist, Kitsune, and to a lesser extent Maximum Black.

Pink Mist already entranced us on Retro Promenade’s “Carpenter” comp earlier this year and gave us thirst for more.

Kitsune is like a perfect slow dance for two lovers caught up in some dystopian cyberpunk turmoil.

Maximum Black has an epic 1 minute intro that is dying to be coupled with a montage of Blade Runner landscapes.

The album is also very interesting when at times – quite often actually – the grand tradition of British indie rock comes through.

For example, The Hegemon sounds like early Keane coated in a retro-synth finish.

Tech Noir might trick you into thinking it’s the synthwave-iest song on the album with no other than John Carpenter uttering the opening fictional movie voiceover and those haunting synth pads.

But don’t be mistaken, the track’s true core is its super catchy chorus sang by Charlie Simpson of Fightstar himself, that sounds like early Coldplay or Bombay Bicycle Club.

The Mountain, the opening track and single, really serves as a manifesto of GUNSHIP’s sound: a bit disturbing, helicopter-like bassline, set against the tangy, high pitched synth bells and arpeggios.

Then there is the Haigh’s warm, slightly fragile vocals. The only thing marring the track are the EDM-like drops.

Another track where GUNSHIP approaches the big room sound and structure is Revel in Your Time, that sounds highly sample-able and with small changes, ready for the Tomorrowland crowd for example.

Another weaker point on the album for me is also Fly For Your Life, that with its combo of inane lyrics and singalong pretensions sounds like it was written as a hopeful contender for the newest Hunger Games soundtrack.

Yet other songs really balance these weaker points out, resulting in a record that really flows from finish to start while each song sounds different.

Other than that, it’s clear GUNSHIP have their eyes set firmly beyond the usual synthwave niche horizon.

We’re yet to see what kind of influence this album might have on the more mainstream music scene, but it could easily earn a place in synthwave history as one of the first crossover albums.

4/5 Star

COMMUNITY RATINGS

Retro Albums to Look Forward to This Year/ Next year.

NewRetroWave — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 17:43:06 +0000

Ahem…

1. Miami Nights 1984.

The master may possibly release his highly anticipated album this year. Stay tuned…

2. Perturbator

His teaser already left so many of us in awe. Expect carnage with this release.

3. Jordan F

This will be an EPIC project from the Jordan. Our ears are ready!

4. VHS Glitch

This will be an EPIC project from the glitch. His debut totally shook the scene. Best believe his sophomore album will do the same.

5. FM-84

Yes please!

6. Trevor Something

Waiting…… for the awesomness.

7. Daniel Deluxe

This one is looong overdue!

KRISTINE – KRISTINE

Filip Galetic — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 17:54:46 +0000

Kristine nurtures a very particular style of sound that exudes confidence, dedication and sophistication. Being one of the few, if not the only female synthwave artist/producers on the scene right now, makes this whole release a special one.

You don’t want to discourage more women taking the helm in front of their synths and mixing panels.

The fact that she plays so many roles – from vocals to playing instruments to producing – gives even more cause for celebration of her presence on the scene.

Lyrically, Kristine is preoccupied with summer love, lovers lost and burning desire. It mixes nicely with the musical arrangements.

Musical arrangements are actually more sparsely decorated with synth riffs than you would expect with a lot of guitar present.

My favorite Kristine tracks are her remixes. Especially that remix of The Deepest Blue by the master himself, Miami Nights 1984 – definitely worth a listen if you already haven’t.

Nonetheless, the album is really finely produced and in that respect, it’s immaculate.

Best enjoyed on your summer holiday where the aural landscape can blend into the palms, sea and sun rays you see around you.

Standout tracks: Rhythm of Love, The Deepest Blue

Track by track breakdown

1. MODERN LOVE

Already released as EP in 2012, this is Kristine’s manifesto in terms of sound and lyrical focus. It’s pure longing mixed with tight production and that epic retro sound.

2. DANGER

The follow-up “Danger” keeps the BPM in dance territory. Fierce blend of Kristine’s vocals that pack a punch, guitars and synths.

3. SUMMER LONG GONE

Summer Long Gone. Thank God, not yet. It’s just @kristineoffcial feeling the pain of leaving the summer tryst behind in the 3rd track of the album. One of the few tracks with a more pure synth sound.

4. RHYTHM OF LOVE

This track has that Latino, Gloria estefan vibe, summery dance number. The really bouncy and rubbery bass really makes the track standout.

5. RADIO

A whispery retro ballad, Radio is Kristine reminiscing of good times with her beau once again. Guitar-laden, it’s an ultimate Bangles hit that never happened (oh come on you saw that comparison coming ;)).

6. WILD HEART

Wild Heart is Kristine retreading similar territory, with first listen its hard to tell songs apart, probably get better with each listen. But it’s true, the song is same tempo and key as previous one which could’ve been handled differently.

7. EVERYBODY

Everybody is the culmination of the stadium rock thread in Kristine’s sound. It’s a perfect encore closing number where the whole arena has the hands clapping and feels the collective climax. Personally, this is not my favorite sound, but stylistically, Kristine shows she’s done her homework.

8. BURNING FEVER

Great vocals! But I got slightly bored at this point. It is quite similar to couple of songs before. I probably should listen more to lyrics. I can definitely see someone enjoying this more than I did though.

9. HEROES

Heroes brings a much needed different feel. Singing in lower register, Kristine sings an ode to everyday heroes in her life (correct me if I’m wrong). The main synth riff is full of longing and pride and really works well.

10. THE DEEPEST BLUE

The Deepest Blue is the track previously released and really helped put @kristineoffcial on the map. It’s a perfect uptempo summer dance ballad with some nice lyrics that evoke images of palms, sunsets, hand holding and passionate kisses.

11. SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

This track has more of that romantic feel and Kristine fiercely delivers this torch song with a lot of sensuality. Her vocals shine again in this one.

12. THE CITY

This tracks is one of the weaker on the album. Piano and sax make an appearance but the overall feel is not as polished as with other tracks.

13. LAST LEFT STANDING

Kristine rock credo shows again with a long guitar solo. This track can be seen as the end credits of the album where you look back on the trip Kristine took you with a smile on your face. I’d definitely love to see where the next trip takes us.

Overall

3.5/5