Morgan Willis ‘Feel it’ is out now via Bandcamp.

Favorite tracks: Lupex Alpha, All Out

Mitch Murder ‘City Wars : Tokyo Reign (Original Soundtrack) is out now via Bandcamp.

Produced by her husband Tatsuro Yamashita and released in 1984, the song, the song has come to be known as one of the most popular examples of the City pop musical aesthetic thanks to a remix of the song whose viewership was heavily boosted by Youtube’s recommendation algorithm. The artists associated with the genre have earned themselves newfound international popularity, thanks in part to their influence on Vaporwave and Future Funk artists.

Full-length releases by artists associated with the genre remain sparse on the streaming platform but have been emerging sporadically in recent years, sparking hopes of more widespread distribution of City Pop music overseas. Taeko Onuki, another major figure in the City Pop genre, has been earning streams in the six-figures since having made her albums available on Spotify. Will the stats behind these streaming numbers be enough to provoke a response from the Major Labels in charge? We’ll just have to wait and see…

Thumbnail photo credit: Alan Levenson

Coming straight from Brighton in the UK, OSC’s latest is filled with very authentic yet fresh sounding retro tones – expertly mixing funk, synth, and newjazz with just a hint of electro and vapor to create an inspiring new retro sound. “Ideality” is a delightful release anchored solidly in funk territory – an avenue of synthwave that is sorely under-explored.

Check it out now here on My Pet Flamingo!

Before taking on this sublime cut from the “Persuasion System” EP, the Italian director helped envision several other delightful tracks – such as Greta Van Fleet’s – “Safari Song” and Phantogram’s “Funeral Pyre.”

From a facebook post, Haley described the music video’s metaphors and symbols in a rare moment of artistic insight:

“Inspired by the evocative, haunting atmospheres of the track and by the cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky, Ingmar Bergman and Krzysztof Kieślowski, the video for “Ultrafiche of You” is a metaphysical journey through the seasons of life. From the feeling of expectation and lightness of Spring to the tender sweetness interposed with the emotional storms of Summer, from the empty melancholy of Autumn, characterized by the lost of personal relationships and memories, to the desolation and loneliness of Winter.” Read the whole synopsis here.

In short, this artful video is the perfect accompaniment to such an astounding track – check it out below!

The wait has been well worth it, as “Stay With You” is quickly showing itself to one of the funkiest albums we’ve heard in a while! A deft blend of funk, disco, and french touch (with just a dash of hip-hop) – Bachelor of Hearts has crafted a bright and dreamy jam – just in time for those summer nights!

Grab a listen here!

Featuring truly lush and cinematic soundscapes, “Hardwired” is yet another fantastic EP from the the one and only Mitch Murder. Every track on this release is expertly produced – giving rise to a sense of intricate depth and complexity. The cover art also seems like a nod to the 1988 anime opus “Akira,” – which is totally rad.

A groovy mixture of cyberpunk and funk, “Hardwired” fills a niche we never knew we were missing. Just when you think cyberpunk can’t get any more interesting and is starting to be played-out, along comes Mitch Murder to revitalize the aesthetic!

Grab a listen here!

Him by OSC

Funk.

It means all kinds of things. Let’s look at the two most binding definitions of the word:

This iconic game has plenty of jams and plenty of implied bad smells… and a lot of everything else, too. ToeJam & Earl is a piece Mega Drive/Genesis bedrock, not to mention a game that stood unique among contemporaries with its gameplay style and innovative combination of concepts. Further boosted by its incredible soundtrack, the game is part of any core collection for the console.

Work began on TJ&E in 1989, when two Electronic Arts developers – Mark Voorsanger and Greg Johnson – set out on their own to develop a game that combined the real-time action of a console title with the elements of a roguelike.

What’s a roguelike, you ask? Well, it’s kind of like an RPG… except you’ll almost certainly die, the world you’re in is randomly generated, and everything is turn-by-turn instead of real-time. That is, you control the pace of the game completely, and in between actions, it remains frozen in time. The term comes from the original game of this kind, Rogue, which is a rather bland-looking (by modern standards) text and ASCII based game for early computers. There are newer reworkings with graphical tiles and enhanced interfaces, but the idea remains largely the same. Voorsanger and Johnson took this idea to Sega, and Sega liked it so much that they asked to publish it exclusively for the Genesis.

TJ&E can be played by one or two people, controlling the titular characters: ToeJam (a little red guy whose entire “head” is represented by two long stalks ending in huge eyes) and Earl (a tubby orange alien wearing some stylish shorts and classic wraparound shades). Their totally righteous but comically designed rapmaster spaceship has crashed, and they need to find all of its component parts to repair it and continue on their way through the cosmos.

The greatest part of this vehicle’s design is its total and brazen ignorance of the fact that sound does not carry across the vacuum of outer space. It also looks like something Jacques Cousteau would draw on a napkin while high as fuck.

Players guide the duo across a plethora of floating space-islands in ¾ perspective, avoiding constant peril and totally lame hassles all the while. If ToeJam and Earl end up separated, the screen simply splits along the middle, tracking their separate wanderings. The universe through which this search-and-retrieve mission is conducted can be randomly generated at the time of play, or a fixed-in-place set of levels that are the same each time you play the game.

ToeJam hard at work, while Earl… well, Earl just kind of stands there. Good job, Earl.

Besides your ship’s missing parts (which are represented VERY abstractly), you’ll find all kinds of funky shit on the ground and wandering around this bizarre floating maze. One of the primary elements of play is the scattering of pickups represented by garishly wrapped presents all over the place. Mimicking another element of most roguelikes, these presents all do different things (most good, some bad), and once you open a present of a certain type (using the menu you access with the B button), you’ve identified all future instances of its kind that you find. Until then, they are mysteries. One present even randomizes (and thus negates all your identification of) all presents. What a pain in the ass.

You’re not alone on this bizarre chunk of earth, either; an astonishing variety of weirdos roam the environment, some wishing you more harm than others. One of my favorites is the hula dancer. She often shows up around more harmful guys like the little red devils, and drawing too near her results in ToeJam or Earl compulsively mimicking her dance (and allowing the other nasties to get the jump on you). There’s little in the way of offensive tools in the game, forcing players to adopt a careful and thoughtful approach to moving through the world. Some beings will be found asleep, and holding down A allows you to creep by them slowly but quietly. Some also behave in certain predictable ways, allowing you to pay attention and use that to your advantage. Telephones reveal parts of the map (accessible by pressing C), and elevators move you up to the next board. Usually, a hint will appear to tell you that a ship part is on the level you’re entering… so scour the whole thing!

ToeJam & Earl features a lot of color and wackiness in it graphics, strongly tied to its overall early-nineties vibe. Its amazing soundtrack, composed by John Baker, comes on even stronger with the 90s power, with a R&B funk style inspired by musicians like Herbie Hancock and thick with bass and flex. The music is another example of a soundtrack really turning that YM2612 all the way out, and I rank it among the finest in the Genesis game library.

Initially, ToeJam & Earl sold poorly, but it built a cult following and also rode on the coat-tails of Sonic the Hedgehog during the Christmas of 1991. It spawned two sequels, and a Kickstarter for a new game successfully reached its funding goal in 2015.

I give ToeJam & Earl 8 out of 10. It’s a pretty fun game, if not a little meandering and open-ended sometimes… but it was definitely a unique spin on console gaming with its combination of source ideas. And man… that SOUNDTRACK.

See you in September! Get your asses back to school (or just get ready for autumn if you’re a grown-ass adult) and STAY RETRO!

One of the most interesting things about synthwave as a genre is the way in which an artist’s unique experiences manifest in their music. It’s always immediately clear, for example, if an artist has experience in metal music or with scoring films. Certain traits appear in the songs. For SID64, that prior experience is interesting. Mastering tracks professionally at Preference Mastering, it’s clear that Charles Michaud had the endpoint of each song in mind as we wrote, recorded, and mixed the eight tracks on his EP Sunset Waves.

It’s difficult picking the best part of this release beyond saying “the first four tracks”. “Not A Dream” opens the album with a pulsing and deceptively interesting beat. It seems initially like a standard four-on-the-floor kick pattern with snares on every other beat, but there are sounds buried in the mix the enrich every aspect of the song. The song is an excellent representation of SID64’s skill in trading off between melodies. The main melodic hook of the song doesn’t last an entire measure and let’s the pulse of the bassline shine for just the right amount of time before adding another melody to trade off with. The second melody uses this extremely funky synth that pops up throughout the album and is one of the best aspects of the release, as well as one of its most defining characteristics.

Spoken word can be something of a mixed bag in synthwave, but the latter half of “A Message For You” uses it to tremendous effect. The majority of vocal synthwave is in English, and so when you hear the French plea of “Pourquoi?” in the song, it is refreshing and unlike much of the scene. Groove is added to the upbeat “Xpand at Night” that follows. If pressed, I would say it is the best song the album was the offer. There isn’t a single moment in the song that isn’t catchy and it just feels like a song where everything is exactly where it belongs, both compositionally and sonically. “My Dream With Tangerines” has the same upbeat groove and cohesive nature. There is always something strange and pleasant happening to latch onto, and the less-than-subtle reference to the influential electronic group Tangerine Dream is appreciated, as I believe our scene owes a lot to them.

“Gym O’Clock” transitions the album toward its conclusion. It’s full of positive energy and highly rhythmic bass fills. It occupies a space that feels like an intersection of Green Hill Zone and Interstellar 5555. “The Lost Theme” is the best song on the back half of the album and is the perfect choice for a closer. It has the same perfectly complementary melodies, subtle deviations from rhythmic expectations, funky synth, and upbeat mood that makes the best parts of this EP so good. It feels like a synthwave version of James Ferraro’s “Linden Dollars” with its unrelenting hooks and manic energy. It ends way faster than you might expect and makes three minutes feel like thirty seconds.
 

It’s worth noting that the CD is going to include some different mixes and completely different mastering than the digital release. SID64 states, “The music won’t be leveled to what you find in digital platform today and the audio spectrum will be closer to what we used to hear in the 80’s.” It’s going to be interesting to see how these great songs translate to a different mix.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

]]> https://newretrowave.com/2016/12/15/sid64-sunset-waves/feed/ 0 https://newretrowave.com/2016/10/17/damokles-bring-out-the-funk/ https://newretrowave.com/2016/10/17/damokles-bring-out-the-funk/#respond Mon, 17 Oct 2016 12:21:49 +0000 http://new-retro-wave.com/2016/10/17/20161017damokles-bring-out-the-funk/ Swedish sensation Damokles, a.k.a. Anders Ekström,  is blasting back from the past with his newest EP, "Bring Out The Funk."

]]>

Swedish sensation Damokles, a.k.a. Anders Ekström,  is blasting back from the past with his newest EP, “Bring Out The Funk.” This collection of tracks looms like a groovy sword – waiting to grace your ears and overturn your ideas of what synthwave can be.

“Bring Out The Funk” is an inspired mix of synth, pop and funk which manages to stay fresh and original in a soundscape of synth music too often overburdened by repetitive tropes and robotic quantization. This should come as no surprise as Damokles has been mixing and producing music since the golden ages of the 70’s and 80’s. 

That native sound is what makes this EP feel different – Damokles offers up an authentic take on retrofunk, blending the new age technology of DAWs with lived-in retro experience. In short, “Bring Out The Funk” manages to seamlessly blend synthwave, funk and disco into a smooth and sexy package of informed nostalgia ready for enjoyment.

SPONSORED CONTENT

The disco influences on this EP are often shown in the choice of major chord progressions which are often interrupted by bright, wobbly funk stabs and flowing, unquantized synth leads. Some of the tracks feature heavily vocoded Kraftwork style vocals, adding to the air of authenticity instead of sapping it, as many retro vocals so often seem to do. 

Most of the tracks on “Bring Out The Funk” are pure retro fuego, but for me the best parts of this EP are singular elements of songs which are executed perfectly – the piano solo in “Gettin’ Me Some Attention,” the groovy synth guitar lead in “Diamonds Are Forever,” and finally the slightly hip, very hoppin record scratching in “Electric Boogie.” 

While the retrofunk sound might not be your choice genre, Damokles certainly has breathed some funky life back into the genre. This album has a particularly authentic sound which makes it easily lovable. Out now on Future 80’s Records, “Bring Out The Funk” is a smash which should not be missed – go grab a listen at bandcamp now.

COMMUNITY RATINGS

]]> https://newretrowave.com/2016/10/17/damokles-bring-out-the-funk/feed/ 0 https://newretrowave.com/2016/05/23/fixions-migration-2019/ https://newretrowave.com/2016/05/23/fixions-migration-2019/#respond Mon, 23 May 2016 16:32:35 +0000 http://new-retro-wave.com/2016/05/23/2016523fixions-migration-2019/

A few months ago, while on the phone with T.S., the founder of NRW, I was talking about certain trends in avant-garde styles of pop developing in London, and how it would be interesting to see these aggressively experimental musical choices manifest in the synthwave scene. With Migration 2019, Fixions has managed to craft an album that not only answers that call, but that also delights me to the point that it feels specifically made for me.

While I’m not certain if Fixions was inspired by the idiosyncrasies found in PC Music releases, some of the stylistic choices are similar, as is the sheer commitment to strangeness. The first track, “2019”, captures much of what I love on this album. The experimentation is most obvious in the chopped and pitched vocal samples, adding something in between melody and percussive textures to an already funky and catchy song. There is a playfulness in the beats in the song that is carried over into much of the rest of the album. “They Live” follows, and pulses with Daft Punk-inspired groove. Even on the darker, moodier tracks, like “Grégoire & Nathan” or “Blasterion”, Fixions manages to keep the energy to the point where the track feels like it could explode at any moment, all of which is laced with the experimentation found on the rest of the futurist android music festival that is Migration 2019.

Fixions fixation with IDM becomes more prominent as the album progresses. “Anathar”, one of the album highlights, is littered with an intricate sort of randomness, feeling at times like a synthwave Aphex Twin. There’s a spontaneity to every sound and every synth, but it all fits together seamlessly, with catchy passages connected and layered. “Entity” is a similar track, in the sense that it is composed of unexpected moments. When the song lulls you into calm moments, it builds anticipation through mesmeric lines and some of the most interesting percussive sounds I’ve ever heard in the genre – one of which resembles a blacksmith hammering an anvil. The inventive nature of the album isn’t limited to one or two production tricks being repeated. Fixions’ ability to push the album sonically in so many different directions while also giving it a distinct and unifying sound is impressive.

There really aren’t dull moments in the 14 tracks of the album. Each song has a commitment to evolution, leading you to places that you might not expect the songs to go. 2016 has been a year with a lot of interesting growth and change in the genre, and this makes me excited. Migration 2019 is one of the least generic, most original sounding releases in the genre, and is a record that feels fresh after multiple spins. Each listen has different highlights throughout the run of the entire album, but also throughout individual songs.  

Facebook

Twitter

Soundcloud

 

]]> https://newretrowave.com/2016/05/23/fixions-migration-2019/feed/ 0