So rejoice and wait no further, fellow humanoid! Gear up on headphones and get your fix of cybernetic synth waves.

DEADLIFE ‘God in the Machine’ is out now via FiXt Neon on Bandcamp and other streaming platforms.

Signals is now available on Bandcamp and Spotify.

Scandroid has always had a flair for the dramatic. The Darkness and the Light is, in itself, an operatic undertaking. It will consist of two EPs released over the span of a few months that operate as companion works. Scandroid adds his flair to the first of the two releases, The Darkness, due to be released on December 4, 2018. If you liked previous Scandroid releases, this will be your favorite. As strong as they are, The Darkness takes everything that made the Scandroid debut special but infuses it with better production values and a more focused mood.  

While “Phoenix”, the second track, is probably the most in-your-face track of the album, it’s metal riffing intro is a treat that suits the sincerity that Scandroids imbues into lyrics that could easily fall into camp territory. It’s on the third track that The Darkness hits its zenith. “The End of Time” is, in no uncertain terms, an absolute banger. It’s a fast-paced track with a pulsing groove at its core. Klayton’s vocal performance here is at his best, fluctuating between menacing lows and catchy highs. In terms of vocals and synths, this is the catchiest track offered here. It interrupts its own hypnotic groove with tom fills and an interesting shift mid-song. Scandroid mastermind Klayton’s experience in pretty much every electronic sub-genre is on full display here as it approaches dubstep and krautrock territory. It’s in Scandroid’s absolute mastery of style mixing that he shines.

“Out of the Darkness”, the final (kind of) track, is the second best offering here. It builds tension effectively in its opening bars. It’s opening drums are strange enough to keep listeners off-kilter before more of the song reveals itself. It ramps up the tension and sense of dread appropriate given the title of the EP. Instead of this leading to a drop, it turns those sounds into something more hypnotic. The end of the track leads smoothly into the four remixes that close out The Darkness, creating a cool effect of disorienting listeners before reeling them in with something more recognizable.

As with Scandroid’s previous release, if you don’t like vocal synthwave, this isn’t for you. Likewise, if you are not a fan of music that is highly narrative in nature. This is synthwave prog, and it’s more upfront about that than most. If that sounds like your jam, then The Darkness is going to give you a non-stop wild ride. Scandroid is at his catchiest here, with his pop sensibilities shining through even the most menacing of synths. Throwing the vocals through a multitude of effects help integrate the vocals to the world that the EP creates. And that sense of atmosphere is so strong that it’s going to be hard to wait until The Light drops in 2019.

From a review standpoint, this is focused primarily on the original tracks of The Darkness. Though this release includes six songs that contribute to the overall The Darkness and the Light project, the album also boasts four remixes full of pulsing synth goodness for your retro-lovin’ ears. You can stream and pre-order The Darkness here.

Be sure to follow NewRetroWave on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to get the latest the synthwave scene has to offer!

Scandroid has also announced ‘Dreams of Neo-Tokyo,’ a full-length remix album featuring remixes of each of the 10 vocal tracks from the debut album. ‘Dreams of Neo-Tokyo’ is available on pre-order now from FiXT & Bandcamp, and available world-wide on March 31st, 2017.

Following the international success of the debut Scandroid album (Top 10 iTunes Electronic Album USA, Russia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia & #5 Billboard Electronic Album), each vocal track from the eponymous release has received official remixes that take the synthwave epic to new horizons on ‘Dreams of Neo-Tokyo.’

‘Dreams of Neo-Tokyo’ is available in multiple formats, including limited edition cassette, so grab your Walkman and crank this album to 11 with remixes from Blue Stahli, Dance With The Dead, Daniel Deluxe, d.notive, GosT, Makeup and Vanity Set, Maks_SF, PYLOT, Scandroid & Waveshaper.

Pre-Order Scandroid – Dreams of Neo-Tokyo Now:

FiXT: http://fixtstore.com/scandroid 
Bandcamp: https://scandroid.bandcamp.com

Follow Scandroid:

Facebook | YouTube | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | Spotify

First off, in what context did this newest project come into existence?
I was a child of the 80s. Although I played in metal bands, I really listened to mostly New Wave. I had always wanted to make New Wave music, but already had musical projects going that were much heavier and couldn’t find a good place to fit in. I just ended up creating lots of demos that got buried in time.

I released a Sci-Fi novel a few years ago, called “Blackstar” which was based off themes from my Celldweller album “Wish Upon a Blackstar.” I decided that I wanted to score for the novel to help people get into a vibe while they read the book. I knew this was finally my excuse to start making some of the 80s synthesizer music I had loved, so that’s what I did.

The “Blackstar” album was instrumental and after it was done I knew I wanted to take the next step and do more blatantly 80s styled music, but with vocals. Scandroid was born. Now I finally had the excuse I needed to cover “Shout” by Tears for Fears like I had been wanting to do since I heard the song on US radio in 1985. (I just finished shooting a music video for this song, which will be out mid-November.)

 So this debut album has been 3 years in the making, with the first single dating back to 2013. Why such a gap between the singles and the album release?
I was fitting Scandroid in between many other projects, so I would get a single done, then move onto a bunch of other things until I had another window to work on another song. Between my other musical projects (Celldweller & Circle of Dust) my audio software company (Refractor Audio) Clothing company (Outland) and my Record label (FiXT) there is always a lot to do. I also scored a full feature film (The Dunes) during this time as well as worked on scores for other feature films (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Out of the Shadows, The Last Witch Hunter and the upcoming Deepwater Horizon to name a few.)

Has this shift towards a new, retro-oriented aesthetic present itself as a challenging one or merely a change of atmosphere and setting?
I don’t find it as much of a challenge, but rather an oasis in my desert. I actually have so much fun creating Scandroid, because any musical restrictions I put on myself for my other projects are lifted, and I can make this anything I want. I’ve been wanting to make this music SINCE the 80s, so you can imagine how happy I was to finally hit a point in my career where I could justify doing it. The timing worked out perfectly too since there is such an incredible resurgence the 80s sound and style coming back into popular culture. If Doc Brown were here right now, I believe he’d say “GREAT SCOTT!!”

Could you tell us a little more about the changes in setup (software/hardware) you’ve had to make specifically for the needs of this project?
I was really excited to change my production arsenal for this album. I deliberately wanted to use all my hardware synthesizers and drum machines. I used my modular synthesizers a bit, but most of the sounds on the album were generated from classic synthesizers like my Roland Juno 106 and Juno 60, 2 Sequential Circuits Prophet 600s, Alesis HR16 Drum Machine and Roland System 100M. I used some of my new synthesizers as well (Dave Smith and Tom Oberheim OB-6, Korg MS20 Mini  & Yamaha Reface CS, which is a recreation of the classic CS-80 made popular in Vangelis’ “Blade Runner” score.)

I used a few of my old cassette 4 tracks for sound design, which i’ve missed quite a bit. Everything does sound so digital now that I had forgotten all the things I loved (and hated) about cassettes. I cracked out a bunch of old guitar pedals too for some live guitar and basslines on the album.

I didn’t do much sound design with software at all. Most software was just for mixing, like EQs and Reverbs. The beautiful part of it was I would dial in a sound and then record it in. I couldn’t change it much after that so it forced me to commit to my decisions, which helped me write the songs more quickly than normal.

The album seems to carry a few underlying themes throughout. Can you elaborate a little more about what the album is about? Would it be fair to call this a concept-record?
It would be fair to say that. I never start thinking “I’m going to make a concept album” but unfortunately I can’t help but create worlds. Since my childhood I’ve had a very active imagination and when I started making music I was creating sounds for imaginary visuals that I was seeing in my head. World building was something I naturally gravitated towards when I created music so my albums generally do tend to be themed and conceptual.

I have a few storylines on the album. A main character “Red” (who happens to be my clone, 500 years in the future.) He lives in old Tokyo and Neo–Tokyo is a rebuilt version of the city that hovers above old Tokyo. Only the elite and rich can afford to live in Neo-Tokyo so Red, walks the empty streets of old Tokyo, surviving alone. He finally does meet his love interest, Aphelion and a few songs are interactions between them. At the same time the common worker androids of the day hit a critical moment in time, where one android ATOM 7K becomes sentient. He then seeks to wake another android, E.E.V. so together they can begin waking the other androids from their robotic slumber, freeing them from the slavery the humans have put them under. Unfortunately it sounds a lot more trite when I type out these descriptions, but when you listen to the album it will make much more sense 🙂

Given your multiple active projects, what can one expect from Klayton after the release of this record?
I’ve just finished a new album for my first musical project I had in the 90s “Circle of Dust.” It’s a much more guitar oriented album, with it’s roots in industrial music, which I loved in the 80s & 90s as well.

There will be a new Scandroid release in 2017.  I’ve already got great remixes from Waveshaper, Dance with the Dead, GosT, Pylot, Daniel Deluxe and Dnotive. I am working on some brand-new unreleased tracks and will be releasing what I hope to be a full length album mid next year.

There are a few Celldweller singles awaiting release and full documentary “Start of an Empire” which documents the making of my last Celldweller album “End of an Empire.” There is film score work coming up for me as well, which will keep me busy. Never a dull moment in my world and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂

To finish off : Could you name (one of) your favorite Album, Movie and Book?
Favorite album, The Cure – Disintegration
Favorite Movie – Blade Runner
Favorite Book – Dune by Frank Herbert

Pre-Order Links:

FiXT: https://fixtstore.com/scandroid

Bandcamp: http://scandroid.bandcamp.com

iTunes: http://itunes.com/scandroid

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Scandroid/dp/B01M6ZOEIX/

Google: https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Scandroid_Scandroid?id=Bareguh572ahnb5vulphmitjxwm

Limited Edition Cassette/Merch Bundles, Exclusively available at:

https://fixtstore.com/scandroid

Album Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaIIOJviHGw

Cassette Commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3C3AzYzlT4

Social Links:

https://facebook.com/scandroid

http://twitter.com/celldweller

http://youtube.com/celldweller

http://instagram.com/klaytoncelldweller

http://klayton.info