For those who might not yet know the story, can you tell us a few words about the origins of Maethelvin?
Maethelvin basically started in 2010, around the time David Grellier was starting the Valerie blog. The whole idea of Valerie was to dig up and share Eighties tracks for our mixing sets. Valerie really developed around “silly” mixing nights we were hosting in Nantes, which is where we all come from. It eventually turned into a blog and eventually David started developing his project as College as well as the Valerie collective as we now know it. College basically grew out of the Valerie blog. I was working on my Dance/Techno project Dach Tünner and David was playing in Sexy Sushi when he asked me to work with him. We started working together and our friends Gaël and Arnaud started The Outrunners as friendly competition. They kept at it and it turned out pretty well for them since they were a lot more focused than we were. David and I tried to work together but nothing really came of it, namely because our ways of writing were too different, so he continued College – which, at the time was called Dusty Haze – on his own.

In parallel, he would also post Eighties songs and visuals. At the time, there wasn’t nearly as much of it as you may find online today. David slowly started adding College tracks as well. I decided to pull a prank on him one day by showing him some track I had made and pretending it was by some obscure artist from the Eighties. I chose the name Maethelvin because there were no search results for that term on Google. The prank worked really well and it drove David crazy for two whole weeks before I finally admitted I had written the song. Thus Maethelvin was born, which accounts for “unbankable”, incomprehensible name. It basically comes from a bad spelling of “Maethelwine”, which is old English for “Melvin”.

So you originally tried to work together on College?
We tried to start it together, yeah. He also worked with Gaël, who played with him on College’s first live show at Le Lieu Unique in Nantes. Le Lieu Unique is somewhat of a cornerstone venue. We have a mutual friend called Frédéric Sourice – who goes by the name Phonème – who books shows there and who knows the local scene very well. He’s the one who started booking us there.

 It’s fairly interesting to note that the Valerie artists are often tagged as founding members of the whole Synthwave genre, despite the fact that you don’t exactly see yourself as a part of the scene.
The thing is that we were just playing Eighties music. I’m not too big on the term “Synthwave”. To me, it just feels like a vague term that people felt the need to come up with, to group together all these artists that were starting to make Eighties music. We were just making music with Eighties gear, thus making it “Eighties music”, nothing more. We were also born in the Eighties. I was born in 1983, so I got to live through that time. I don’t think we made anything new, really.  We just make music that borrows from Video Games and Nineties dance culture. What I do is nothing new. Our purpose is pretty much the same as that of pop music, which is to have fun, to party and to play gimmicky, accessible songs.

At which point did you become aware of Synthwave scene?
Pretty recently, probably no earlier than 2014, which is around the time we started getting more gigs and around the time we started meeting artists from the scene. We met Andreas (aka Robert Parker) for example when we played Helsinki. He came to see us and we had no idea who he was, despite the fact that he already had a pretty decent following. He was super friendly and we got along really well. I remember Gaël (The Outrunners, Forgotten Illusions) telling us the next day “This guy seems pretty legit!”.
That’s the time we realized we had probably missed the mark. Until then, we had no idea that a whole scene had developed with people that were regularly namedropping our projects and the collective in interviews. We had stayed in our little bubble since 2010 with our friends Anoraak and Minitel Rose. Back when Valerie started, we knew of acts like Electric Youth, Hot Pink Delorean and the whole Australian movement that was emerging from the Synth-Pop scene. It was a whole different side of things. There were also some British acts like Fear of Tigers and Russ Chimes, who worked with Valerie for a bit. They were amongst the first in the whole “Eighties Revival” movement.

 Having lived through the Eighties’ is there anything that intrigues you about this “retro” aesthetic?
It really depends whether you’re talking about the Eighties from 2010 or its 2019 version. I make a clear distinction between our Synthwave fans and the audience we had back in 2010.  I’m nearing my forties now, and I’m under the impression that the average Synthwave fan demographic is between 25 and 30 years of age. What I find really interesting is how Eighties culture is being re-appropriated by a whole generation that didn’t live through it. I find it really awesome.

It’s true that one must remember that this current “retro” aesthetic is the result of Eighties pop culture being filtered through the lens of people who weren’t necessarily born at the time. I assume that the streets back then weren’t paved with fluorescent neon lights…
Indeed, it was probably more of a club thing. It’s also not really what we’re drawn to in the Valerie Collective. We don’t really identify with the whole ultra-glittery neon aesthetic or Tron grids. We feel pretty distant from all of that. To us, we associate the Eighties with shows like Miami Vice. There were neon’s too, but it’s less “Retrofuturistic”, less Sci-Fi. It’s more grounded, closer to what the Eighties actually felt like. There was actually a pretty realistic feel to Miami Vice. The atmosphere and the stories weren’t too far-fetched.
What I also enjoy about the Eighties is its creative freedom. To me, the Internet came with a form of standardisation of music, everything tends to feel the same whereas this was less the case in the Eighties. The record industry was releasing heaps of crap every minute and people were making all sorts of things with the arrival of all these new machines. It’s what allowed genres like Acid to develop. We really enjoy that freedom.

It’s hard to deny the fact that the Synthwave genre also came with a saturation of gimmicky copycat projects. Would be fair to say that your affiliation with this largely “standardised” scene is what once caused you to somewhat grow tired of Maethelvin?
Absolutely, though I’m not sure if “tired” is the most fitting word. All of the songs I wrote prior to last year, including my latest EP – which is made of tracks from my first live show in 2014 – are things I don’t necessarily identify with. I’m really glad to have made them, but I wouldn’t feel too keen on playing them live again, simply because they sound like a lot of music being released today. They rely on gimmicks that are a little bit overdone. I didn’t feel like doing that anymore, so I briefly turned to Techno to change things up, to try out new gear, new songs, and return to Maethelvin with a more Italo-influenced club sound, which was the essence of what we were trying to do nine years ago. It’s got more of a Techno edge, as opposed to the «poppier » side of Synthwave. A lot of Synthwave songs tend to have the same structure, I find. I’m not pointing fingers nor do I want to pull anyone down, because it’s usually pretty well produced and done by talented people, it’s just not what I’m after. Producing for the sake of producing isn’t my thing.

 Does this mean we’ll be seeing a new side of Maethelvin for your upcoming set at Retro Synth Fury Fest 2019?
Absolutely, I’m going to be switching things up for a more Italo-influenced sound: lots of drum machines, much fewer breaks and more of a « club-oriented » sound.

Has this led to a change of gear or approach to your songwriting?
Somewhat. I’m also starting to realize that I’m an Eighties kid as well as a Nineties kid, given my age and the fact that the Nineties was when I started listening to music and playing video games. I’m also growing increasingly aware of a sort of symbiosis between Dach Tünner and Maethelvin. The former is starting to sound a little more « Eighties retro », whereas Maethelvin is starting to borrow a little more from Dance music. I’ve been told that my new stuff sounds like the Soundtrack to Streets of Rage, which itself was inspired by Black Box.

If you could bring back something and banish another from the Eighties, what would you pick?
We need to bring back the moustache, I’m thinking of growing one.
Also, the Internet should have never existed. Things were better back in the day. I’m going to sound like such an old fart for saying this [laughs]. I do love the Internet, but not so much these days. A lot of great things did come back from the Eighties though: Air Max shoes, Digital watches, retro-gaming, Gameboys, analogue synths…

When I asked David the same question he said he would banish the haircuts.
[Laughs] That’s easy for him to say, he’s got no hair! [Laugh] That’s a good answer though. Those haircuts definitely shouldn’t come back.

Closing off: can you name one of your favourite albums, movies and books?
The album that left the strongest impression on me is The Man Machine by Kraftwerk. It’s one of the most modern-sounding albums I’ve heard. It’s also been sampled to death. It has this Hip-Hop edge, the band work wonders on their gear, the songs are incredible and the overall aesthetic is incredible.
Film-wise, I’m going for something pretty basic: Shining. The cinematography and the Soundtrack by Wendy Carlos left a strong impression on me. My mum had the great idea of showing it to me when I was seven years old, and I think it scarred me for life.
Book-wise, I’m going to say Ubik by Philip K. Dick. That book messed my head up. That book is insane. It’s said to be unadaptable to film, simply because the book is so out-there.

European Retroheads, be sure to catch Maethelvin and many more heavyweight Synthwave acts at Retro Synth Fury in Paris. 

Retro Synth Fury
April 4th at Supersonic, featuring Réno (Fr), Grimlin (Fr) & Maethelvin (Fr)
https://www.facebook.com/events/303022477023907/

April 5th at Le Petit Bain, featuring Yx (Fr), Christine (Fr), Starcadian (US), Morgan Willis (Fr), NINA (UK)   https://www.facebook.com/events/321622565224863/

I got the opportunity to speak with Roman, a developer for Australian indie Games Team Bit Dragon, about the upcoming title, Hyper jam, a Neon-soaked brawler with a top down perspective.

The game looks amazing, packed with RetroWave synths and neon eye-candy, indulging on a colourful art style, pallet and soundtrack, with unique brawler mechanics involving powerup stacking and strategical hit placing.

Beats on the Battlefield

The map and character designs in Hyper Jam take creative influence in 80’s portrayals of the future, rather than specific throws to our favourite titles.

On Maps, Roman said that “they’re inspired by real world locations and then we’ve… (brought) …the 80’s flare to it after the fact”.

“They’re not necessarily throwbacks to any specific title… … it’s just more a throwback to the era, and, yeah, I guess… …envisioning of what the future could have been like as it was seen in the 80’s”.

“We didn’t start off with (the art style)” “We only adopted the neo-80’s theme… …6 months after it was developed”.

“it was about people basically fighting in hell for a chance of reincarnation… … So the aesthetic was very gritty, very grungy”

Roman discussed that this coupled with the gameplay, and was central to how the game would be played, and how it transferred into a Neo-80’s aesthetic.

“It’s quite fast and pretty chaotic… …One thing sets it apart from other top-down games, there’s a lot of physicality in the combat”.

“When you get hit by an explosion… your character would really like slide back and recoil in reaction to the hits”.

“The combat is very deliberate, very meaty… … we play a lot of fighting games and stuff so it is really important to us that the controls are really responsive and the actions aren’t without meaning”

Beats in the Background

“Hotline Miami… …that’s how we… …got to the Synthwave aesthetic I suppose”

Roman discussed that the team behind Hyper Jam are massive Retrowavers. “Artists like Dance with the Dead, Carpenter Brut… … Pertubator” were listened to during the development of the game.

“Often during development we’ll just like, put on like a Synthwave playlist on… …YouTube or something or just Spotify”.

Currently, Bit Dragon has confirmed music from Dance with the Dead to be featured in the game, with more artists yet to be confirmed.

“There is a variety of Synthwave artists that we listen to and do plan to reach out to… … to feature their music in the game”.

“Also if there are Synthwave artists that are… …wanting to be featured in the game… … I’d definitely also be interest in them approaching us and letting us know”.

Beats on the Screen

It’s a round-based, four player last man standing game, based around heavy hitting and fast pace action.

“After a round… … basically you’re given a selection of (random) powerups”

“Whoever is coming last gets first pick of it, and whoever’s coming first gets basically what’s left over”.

Roman discussed that the game has taken massive influence from brawlers, but also that the “perk drafting” mechanic is central to the game, using similar notions to The Binding of Isaac and Magic: The Gathering, interlaced with a multiplayer, four player systems.

It’s chaotic, its colourful, and there’s strategy to it. It’s Beautiful.

Beats on the Way

Hyper Jam is set for an “Early 2018” Release, with a Progress Update being released on the First of November, showing off a New level – Overpass, alongside improvements of previous maps such as Subway, Assembly (formerly, Hoghouse) and Hotel.

You can check out development and news of the game on hyper Jamgame.com, or through Steam, store.steampowered.com/app/556050/Hyper_Jam .

Groovy.

*Images obtained from the Hyper Jam Presskit http://hyperjamgame.com/press/

**Special Thanks to Roman Maksymyschyn & The Bit Dragon Team

You cut this man and bleeds the 80’s.

The gentle arp tugs you in, simple, addictive, memorable, looping on and on, all the sound is filtered rising up, a drum break that snaps to a rhythm, a cow bell, a reverbed hand clap. The lead line bursts and expands into the space accompanied by a few sparse stabs on the pads. The bass metallic and punchy. A wonderful journey, light and full of air, full of possibilities…

Take the ride back to the 80’s with Rain Sword and enjoy the synthesized sounds- emotive, atmospheric, anthemic. The vintage synth-laden fusion of Moroder melodics, spine-prickling arpeggios, the sound that defines a decade.

Nina’s cool as ice voice enters and the spine is set to tingle, chills initiate as it finds its groove, loaded with gritty drum hits and a steady backbeat.

The chorus’s iconic melody carries you the rest of the way through the track and you yourself with carry it around with you for the rest of the day, feeling like this itching tag you can’t rip out of your shirt, it suits you like a symptom and you’re happy to own it.

The pulsating rhythm ensures it never loses momentum, blood feeling like caffeine to the pumping arpeggios, a treasure trove of outrun-styled melodics, poly pads, and overdriven leads.

Warm juno chords, glassy FM stabs and ethereal chimes adding that extra melodic-mineral warmth.

Nina really gets to the beating heart of what the 80’s were about and delivers a song that is a vivisection of a decade.

Managing to sound at once like the past and the future with vintage modulations, lo-fi washes, delay-drenched elements and reverb resplendent hits. A Plucky synth pattern stabs intro and Melodic bass fill the air as a washy lead line chimes and tingles, then evaporates, washing over you like a dream.

At an American high school, glossy hair, cars and sports jackets. The tune repetitive, beautiful, thoughtful restrained.

As a tasty roster of classic instruments come and go retro rhythms feels, analogue nostalgia abounds.

Recalling sun-drenched memories from the eighties, whilst also creating new distant memories. Teenage days, lost loves, eternal summer.

This weeks ‘song of the week’ is a LGHTNNG double bill-Sharks/ Run:
Sharks.

Sharks:

A washed out arpeggio synth falling upwards like gravity in reverse, simultaneously pulling you further into the song as it tries to escape. A muted guitar riff is layered on top of the arp, the two parts are at war with one another creating the friction that propels the song forwards. A voice enters to negotiate the space with a fifty-fifty give and take, push and pull. It appears, oddly, beautifully, cutting its way through the centre of the track. The voice is vague-familiar-alien, romantic, tragic. Deliberately moody.  A voice you’re sure you’ve heard before.
This is how it sounds to walk straight through the evening, hoping not to be spotted, on the edge of something, circling the room. Sharks features four different melody sections, all chorus worthy and equally compelling so that there is always something new, always movement. ‘We move like sharks.’
 
Run:

Giving a vivid warm saturated unrelenting background to contend with the female voice seems to be escaping from a fog, a false mist pumping from a nightclub machine, creating an invisible oblivion. Run is intrigued by the possibility of deliberately capturing a frozen moment in time, a couple of decades behind us. A wonderful nostalgia is created, a vivid anticipation, then some startled reality followed by the illusion of loss, a melancholia hangs over the haunted voice. Once more the melody seems into your mind and will cast a shadow over it for the days to come. For a second there is a resemblance of something, a long time ago now, like everything else. Where’ve you been all your life? A girl’s voice as insubstantial as condensation that sits on the window ledge. Scraping across the edges of the song. Taken to the point of near-ecstasy and unconsciousness abstraction that is a wipe out.
 
LGHTNNG – Sharks/ Run

The devilish duo Dance With The Dead are being resurrected back into the spotlight with the release of “B-Sides: Volume 1.” Although this album is comprised of various unreleased and compilation tracks, it is quickly shaping up to be a truly fiendish fan favorite.  

On a twitter post, the Orange County based producers simply promoted the album as “Tons of music that never made it onto our records!” However, “B-Sides” is transcending it’s own title. B-sides are usually known for content not good enough to make the A-side cut, but here we have a collection of excellent tracks blended expertly together to form a cohesive whole – something not usually seen in a collection of unreleased material. Were talking grade A premium zombie killing music folks!

In spite of the album’s cohesiveness, the mix of songs still leans towards eclectic. “B-Sides: Volume 1” ranges from tracks comprised of an odd mix of power and speed metal (sans the big hair) to the more familiar mix of diabolic, always surprisingly danceable synthwave. 

“B-Sides: Volume 1” feels like it’s melodies were ripped straight from the head spinning original Exorcist and piped through a duo of synthesizer and electric guitar. Tracks like this would be just as fit as the soundtrack to Castlevania as to a dancefloor – an odd combination where it’s easy to miss the mark, and Dance With The Dead nails it. The crisp production on this album will have metalheads and darksynth fans rising from their graves to rave together.

The standout tracks on this album seem to be “Banshee,” “Entity,” “Blood Moon,” “Venom,” “The Man Who Made A Monster” and of course the bangin’ climax at the end of “The Awakening.” That’s over a third of the album that are must-listens for any fans of darkwave. With tracks like this hiding in the attic, we can only wonder with excitement whats coming next from Dance With The Dead!

COMMUNITY RATINGS

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]]> https://newretrowave.com/2017/01/30/dance-with-the-dead-b-sides-vol-1/feed/ 0 https://newretrowave.com/2016/12/14/a-retro-synth-compilation-for-a-good-cause/ https://newretrowave.com/2016/12/14/a-retro-synth-compilation-for-a-good-cause/#respond Wed, 14 Dec 2016 20:36:06 +0000 http://new-retro-wave.com/2016/12/14/20161214a-retro-synth-compilation-for-a-good-cause/ Let's help to give back! All proceeds from this album go to help a child in need.

]]> Let’s help to give back! All proceeds from this album go to help a child in need.

This year,  Hungarian Synthwave Allstars join to help Táltos, a disabled  boy from Budapest. 

“Táltos was born with serious movement disability and brain damage because of the lack of oxygen during his labour. His got only one dream now: to walk on his own feet one day! 

He is waiting for two serious orthopedic surgery and a long and painful (and expensive) rehabilitation program.” –  Hungarian Synthwave Allstars Bandcamp.

]]> https://newretrowave.com/2016/12/14/a-retro-synth-compilation-for-a-good-cause/feed/ 0 https://newretrowave.com/2016/06/21/an-adventure-in-synthwave/ https://newretrowave.com/2016/06/21/an-adventure-in-synthwave/#respond Tue, 21 Jun 2016 13:11:07 +0000 http://new-retro-wave.com/2016/06/27/2016621an-adventure-in-synthwave/ The whole outing felt very ritualistic; we were excited to be part of something special.

 

]]> The reaction I got from the first several people (including the artists themselves, in fact) I told that I would be traveling approximately 4200 miles across the Atlantic for the sole purpose of attending a Synthwave show was essentially the same; “Wow, what, really? That’s awesome and kind of insane.” Turns out, they were correct; this show and this experience was absolutely insane and worth every literal and metaphorical penny. It took me a while to write this up, but I needed some time to let it soak in.

 

See, this wasn’t just any random show; it featured 3 of my absolute favorite artists in the genre; Perturbator, GosT, and Dan Terminus. Once the tour was announced, I knew I needed to make this pilgrimage. I knew it would be fulfilling, crazy, inspiring, and generally wonderful for my well-being and artistic pleasure. The decision to attend this tour was simple (one could say the decision was made for me), so it was just a matter of figuring out which city I wanted to visit. Vienna worked perfectly well for me since I had visited over 15 years ago and had always wanted to return.

 

Once everything was booked (the easy part), I just had to wait. But quickly on I thought to myself, “If I am going all the way over there to see this tour, I should make some sort of project around this.” Musical writing and covering shows is something I did before, so I decided I’d write about this in some shape or form. So I reached out to New Retro Wave about the opportunity, and began by interviewing GosT and Dan Terminus. I had the pleasure of spending over an hour on Skype with GosT discussing everything from inspirations, past show experiences (which just made me giddy with excitement and anticipation for this one!) and even awful 90’s metal fashion like Jncos (and their apparent resurgence).

Friday, March 25th. I arrive in Vienna after a night of very little sleep on my flight over from NYC. My day is a game of coffee drinking and tricks to play on myself to keep from falling asleep, but it turns out the general excitement of my journey makes it moot; too much energy! Before traveling I had befriended an Austrian fellow who was making the trip with some friends to see the show, so we decided to meet up at a venue called Escape Metal Corner where there would be a show after party the next night. Over the course of several hours we threw back beers, discussed how excited we were for the show, and also our general enthusiasm for this movement; Synthwave/Darkwave was all we could talk about. The fans dedication to this is pretty incredible, evidenced by my travels, as well as this guy’s dedication to the cause by making himself his own custom Perturbator jacket:

Homemade Perturbator Jacket!

“The whole outing felt very ritualistic; we were excited to be part of something special.”

Saturday the 26th: day of show. I go eat things and see things to kill time before I needed to show up. Eventually, I made my way, while listening to (naturally) my Darkwave warmup playlist, walking along the river to the Grelle Forelle venue, situated in an odd corner and pretty hidden from the street. Just finding the venue itself was a mini adventure. Since I was (graciously) granted guest list access and would be hanging with Perturbator, GosT, and Dan T backstage I got there very early, and was lucky enough to watch the setup and initial sound checks. The lighting and sound were pretty fucking killer, couldn’t wait to hear and see this live!

Perturbator warming up

Eventually I spotted Perturbator (James) and introduced myself. He (and everyone I ended up meeting) was extremely pleasant, fun, and all around a very nice guy. He took me backstage and introduced me to the rest of the crew, and we sat down to chat. We decided that we could do some interviews once Perturbator finished his soundcheck. I reassured them that the “boring” interview questions were out of the way, and had even gone out of my way to create some pretty ridiculous questions for laughs; they appreciated this and seemed to be quite tired of the regular old “who are your inspirations questions.” In any case, we had time to kill (a few hours) so we commenced beer drinking and listening to random music. Which led to …

 

No interview at all! Once we hit a certain threshold, we decided that an interview would be boring and instead, I should just write about hanging out with them, which turned out to be hilarious, incredible, fun, and frankly stupid. Turns out that I had a ton in common with all these guys from our collective love of heavier music, to random similarities in our youth to food choices. We went on a tear listening to some of our favorite nü metal artists like Limp Bizkit and Korn, cheesy indie rock, and hardcore. There was a lot of pseudo-moshing happening in that back room. The whole evening went something like this:

 

* Drink beers, talk about music

* Drink more beers, talk about music

* Tommy runs downstairs to watch a set

* Tommy runs back upstairs to have a beer and listen to more nu metal and shoot the shit

* Tommy runs back downstairs to see another set

* Essentially repeat the above for 4 hours

 

Overall, the sets themselves were all epic, high-energy, and full of spontaneity and passion; all of these guys put on an absolute clinic, winning over the crowds and creating an experience that is really hard to describe; it was unlike any show I had ever attended before and left me dizzy for weeks afterwards. It was literally very difficult for me to put into words exactly what these shows were like. I can only hope they can get over to the States more often now as I have now had just a taste and am already craving more. The bar has now been substantially raised for me for live music.

Oh, did I mention there was an after-party? There was indeed an after party. We made our way (Perturbator included) back to the Escape Metal Corner again for some additional DJs spinning Synthwave. Here the dancing and revelry continued with aplomb, as the place was packed with concertgoers and was no less packed when I finally decided to leave around 4:30 a.m. The energy from the concert spilled over into that smaller yet very loud venue, bodies jumping up and down, heads nodding, fists continuing to pump viciously.

Sunday the 27th, I sleep a lot, then spend my last few hours in Vienna by roaming around Zentralfriedhof, an amazing cemetery, with another fellow I had met at the show the night before. This has been a constant theme for me, meeting passionate, fun, nice, friendly people as I start getting more into this music and that’s something I could not say for many other genres I have gotten into. Both the fans and the artists themselves, which seems to really set Synthwave apart; its authenticity and sheer joy that it gives its creators and listeners.

I’ve already booked my next trip to see Carpenter Brut in the Ukraine in September. I am pretty sure that is also going to be insane. I cannot wait.

]]> https://newretrowave.com/2016/06/21/an-adventure-in-synthwave/feed/ 0 https://newretrowave.com/2016/05/03/fm-84-atlas/ https://newretrowave.com/2016/05/03/fm-84-atlas/#respond Tue, 03 May 2016 17:42:19 +0000 http://new-retro-wave.com/2016/05/03/201653fm-84-atlas/ Let's get this out of the way: Atlas is a profound masterpiece of an album done with an almost unfathomable attention to detail. The wait after FM-84's Los Angeles EP from 2015 was rather long but well worth it.

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Filip grew up on a diet of Masters of Universe, Nightmare on Elm Street and MTV.

Email: fi***********@**********ve.com

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Art by Signal Noise

A SUNSET-TINGED, IMAX-SIZED EPIC

 

Let’s get this out of the way: Atlas is a profound masterpiece of an album done with an almost unfathomable attention to detail. The wait after FM-84’s Los Angeles EP from 2015 was rather long but well worth it.

FM-84 a.k.a Col Bennett, a Scottish-born transplant to Northern Cali, luckily resisted the impulse I’m sure he had, and that is to quickly churn out a sequel to his much revered short-play release, universally praised by critics and audiences alike.

Instead he embarked on a thorny path of really figuring out what he wanted to do and then really made sure that his vision came true.

The result is this breezy, brazen, cinematic journey of mere 46 minutes, but filled to the brim with genuine heart, soul and some unmatchable synth wielding chops.

I said brazen because in 2016 we still haven’t really seen a mass breakthrough of the classic synthwave sound (the kind established now quite a long time ago by the „fathers“ MN1984, Mitch Murder and others) that cherishes cinematic scope, heavy sense of nostalgia and clinging to carefree days.

No, that remains a steadfast niche genre, while the offshot of synthwave, dark synthwave is quickly gaining new audiences and almost mutating into a genre of its own.

So yes, it’s pretty brazen to stay true to your own artistic calling and make an album that might not get chewed up by horny adolescents, but will surely be remembered as a pinnacle of the craft among those that care.

The reason it works seems to lie in the fact is that Mr Bennet doesn’t just play, arrange, mix and master his creations, but truly uses all of the tools availabe to him to paint with sounds. And he paints gorgeous, sunset-tinged, IMAX sized odes to summer, feeling deeply and falling in love madly, and looking back fondly on the experience.

The emotions Atlas stirs are not easy to describe but this comes close: you know how when you just come to the beach for the first time in the year, every cell in your body sort of exhales everything it’s been accumulating and you truly start being present in the moment? That’s what Atlas does to you.

Or another way to describe it: you know how when sometimes, when you’re in the middle of having a time of your life, you catch yourself looking back at the experience BEFORE it even ended, and you become a little bit sad? That’s what Atlas will do to you.

‘Saying a lot without using any words’ seems to be the operative phrase for FM-84, so then it’s pretty surprising he actually added tons of vocal tracks on this album as well, the majority of them penned with the vocalist sensation Ollie Wride from the UK.

The chemistry between the two was immense which resulted in three synth pop 32-carat diamonds that are absolute highlights of an otherwise near perfect album and can be listened over and over again in new ways each time.

To say Wride has a good set of lungs would be a complete understatement, as there seems to be simply no note he can’t hit with total command and perfection.

His singing hits the sweet spot between Freddie Mercury’s sheer vocal range and pitch and Roland Orzabal’s (Tears for Fears) expressiveness and vulnerability.

On the closing track aptly named Goodbye (hopefully not for long – at some point FM-84 was resolute to end this project and start something new – luckily he didn’t – chalk it up to artistic pressure) his vocal guest is not just someone born in the 80s but someone who actually made a name for himself in that decade.

Mr Clive Farrington, of When in Rome, borrows his warm vocal chords to sing out this ambiguous ballad (did they say goodbye in the end?). If you’re not sure who When in Rome were, like I wasn’t, know that in 1988 they had a hit called The Promise that sounded A LOT like New Order.

‘Goodbye’ is actually a much better song than that one. Musically belongs somewhere in the late 80s (maybe even very early 90s) as well, with it’s sophisticated, marine feel. It’s practically begging for a video featuring a yacht and the sailor pattern.

On Atlas, FM-84 lovingly honors the fans of Los Angeles (including yours truly) by giving plenty more of that sublime, picture perfect cinematic epicness.

But we get to have the cake and eat it too.

This closing track as well as Tears and Jupiter for example, prove that FM-84 decided not to stay firmly in one place, dared to enter new territories and expanded his repertoire. And boy oh boy, he made it.

At a time, when retro synth production – and not to mention music production at large – can seem very cerebral and almost calculated, FM-84 sends us a gentle message in a bottle reminding us music is about listening with our hearts.

9,5/10

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]]> https://newretrowave.com/2016/05/03/fm-84-atlas/feed/ 0 https://newretrowave.com/2016/04/06/interview-badlands/ https://newretrowave.com/2016/04/06/interview-badlands/#respond Tue, 05 Apr 2016 23:50:30 +0000 http://new-retro-wave.com/2016/04/07/201646interview-badlands/

By Joey Edsall

Joey Edsall was born and raised near Scranton, Pennsylvania. He has always immersed himself in art, being an avid fan of film and music.

Email: joe********@**********ve.com

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Badlands debut album Locus drops on April 15th, but I was lucky enough to listen to it ahead of time. Trust me, it’s going to be huge. You can listen to her song “Echo” on our YouTube channel. I had the opportunity to ask the talented Swede a few questions. You can read her answers below!

PHOTO BY RICKARD GRÖNKVIST.

Within the first minute of “Ballady”, the opening track of your upcoming album, Locus, that Badlands is something very different from a lot else on the scene. There’s a real focus on mood and emotionally cathartic moments. Was there a conscious decision to create something this different or did it just happen?

Nothing in my music making process is conscious or calculated, it all just happens. Sudden harmonies and pictures appear in my head like capsuled little moments or revelations, and from there I walk in to the studio and try to communicate that exact feeling, somehow. There and then, I don’t have a recipe on how to achieve it – but I won’t stop until I manage to recall that emotion again. Sometimes that process takes just a couple of weeks, sometimes several months.

It’s interesting that you should mention “Ballady” along with that description, because sometimes the revelation changes within the process too. Someone I know lost her son during the making of this record, which of course was extremely hard and emotionally cathartic. I thought a lot about to where we can turn our prayers in situations like these, when we don’t believe in a man made God.. Hence “Ballady” became a cosmic lullaby for that child and some kind of plea to the universe. That was all I had at the time, all I could do.

 

Speaking of how delightfully strange this album is (in the best way!), what genre would you call it? Feel free to make up a ridiculous genre name! I’d call it post-dream-ambiwave.

Some kind of dusky, interstellar dreamwave maybe? Post-dream-ambiwave is pretty cool too haha, even though I’m striving to make something new. It feels really weird trying to put a genre to it in a retrospective, but I understand why people feel they need to.

 

What initially got you interested in creating music?

I became interested in music early, like 11-12 years old, and listened a lot to post-hardcore, shoegaze and stuff, alongside new wave and synth, throughout my teenage years. But even though I hung out with people in bands, I felt very curtailed playing myself. I never found my place really, and in the small Swedish town where I’m from, if you didn’t play guitar, bass or drums in a band – there was no other way. But then I discovered there are other ways, and that’s when I started to produce music without realizing myself.

We had a quite progressive music teacher in high school, who taught some of us how to use midi and sampling with an AKAI S3000. He let me borrow one of those 8 channel portable studios over the weekends, and that way I could hide out and explore in my own pace. I think that was my ticket out of status quo. I experienced a big relief, independence and freedom in creating electronic music, or semi-electronic would be more correct to say. And that’s how it all started. It took many years though before my music became anything else than hundreds of nameless soundtracks on a harddrive, along with some failed attempts to form a band.

But in the end, I think most people start creating music because they’re missing something, and noone will be able to make that music but themselves. That’s how Badlands was born for me anyway.

 

Who are your biggest musical influences?

I wouldn’t call it influence, because I certainly don’t try to sound like anything – but to me there’s no better sound in the world than a fuzzy arpeggio on vinyl. A lot of stuff that inspires me is  either from the 70’s or early 80’s, even though I wasn’t born then. People that lead on new wave, before it even became a concept. I romanticize around the times when too much was never enough, and how music makers didn’t seem to compromise as much with their work as many of us do today. It was totally cool to play 5-6 minute long songs on the radio, melody and mood guided production and there was a smoldering reassurance in the sounds. Some kind of sane bravado and belief in the future which we lack today, that I gladly let myself get infected by. Tangerine Dream, Aphrodite’s Child, Throbbing Gristle, Richard Barbieri, Art of Noise, Simple Minds, Fleetwood Mac, Freur, Talk Talk, Units, Tubeway Army, New Order..  Stuff like that.

 

Are you influenced by anything non-musical, like film, art, or literature?

Not initially in a record or tune making process. It all comes from inside and I even hide from external impression. But at a later stage when the music is there and it’s time to represent what’s it it and help people approaching it, then other stuff comes in. On Locus for example, I was very inspired by photographers such as Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Gregory Crewdson alongside early Spielberg movies and such, when trying to figure out the visual representation. Wouldn’t have happened without my friend and talented photographer Rickard Grönkvist, who created the cover photo for Locus. So in a way it does influence the music, sure, even if it is in a retrospect.

 

The synths used on the album would make any gear nerd freak out. What was your favorite synth to use?

I like most synths with the slightest bit of character, and I’m a real pragmatic in that sense. They don’t have to be super cool and vintage to sound good and work inspiring, although a good bit of that kind appears on Locus. My partner in crime is my Nord Lead 2x, simply because the possibilities are endless once you get to know it inside out. There’s nothing you can’t do with it, and it sounds amazing. There’s alot of Juno 60 on the record though. My fave part was to hook it up to a drum-trigger, making that Vangelis like sound when you hit it. I really like hooking up synths to stuff it’s not supposed to be hooked up with, in general. Make happy mistakes. However – if I was to get a new vintage synth right now it would be the Oberheim OB12. Should’ve gotten it years ago, I find myself trying to imitate it an awful lot.

 

What was your favorite piece of software to use while producing Locus?  

I only ever record, edit and mix in Pro Tools, it’s just part of me. Of course I use a lot of plug-ins too, but they’re my secret.

 

What is your songwriting process like?

Very scattered – songwriting and production means the same to me. I write while producing and produce whilst writing, I’ve never made a demo in my life. But it usually starts with a transient melody that flares up in my mind. It only ever stays for a few seconds, so if I don’t have my phone or other quick recording equipment nearby it’s lost forever.  But if I manage to catch it, I figure out the harmonies and stuff on my giant reverberating haunted monster piano. After that I bring it in to the studio, and then it’s just a big chaos for weeks, sometimes months, of me trying out different stuff. Record, sample, build sounds, arpeggios, record acoustic stuff just to replace them with samples and vice versa, changing melodies, hating myself for even trying etc. And then one day, it all starts making sense again, and then I know I’m close and it was all worth it after all. 90% of the writing process is a nightmare, but the 10 remaining % is my crack.

 

While the album features a handful of very talented musicians accompanying you, this is an album that you wrote, recorded, and produced entirely on your own. Do you enjoy writing music in a solitary way like this, or do you prefer collaborations?

It’s an independence thing. Inspiration can’t wait for band meetings, rehearsals, cancellations and other delays. So when ideas comes to me, I want to start working with them straight away, whenever I want, and without having to compromise with anything. That’s why I do everything myself, and that’s how it all started. Years ago when I had all these ideas but nobody to help me with the tunes, I slowly learned how to produce myself instead. And once you have your ways, that’s how you roll. Collaborations are great, but Badlands will always remain a solo project. But for the next record I wish to use external musicians to a larger extent though, and in a more organized way.  Because it adds so much, opens doors you didn’t know existed. Even when you don’t keep the recorded material, it can work as reassurance. We’ll see what happens.

 

If you could collaborate with any artist right now, regardless of genre, who would it be?

Probably something as far away from myself as possible, genre-wise. Like classical composer Zbigniew Preisner for example, he’s incredible and quite unconventional. And we both share the conviction on the importance of melody in music. His melodies sound like nothing else. I never think about these kind of things, but to collaborate with him would actually be super cool, now that you ask.

 

Which song on Locus are you most proud of?

You Have Taught Me So much, because that’s the only song that I finished writing before I started to record it. Made me feel as if I learned something. And it’s a pretty defined love song. I usually don’t write those.

 

Why did you pick “Echo” and “Caramisou” as singles for the album?

I think a single should represent the overall sound and work as a help for the listener to approach the album. That’s why I choose those two – they’re representative, and pretty catchy. And I kind of look at them as Yin & Yang – a good and an evil twin, one on each shoulder.

 

Where did the title of Locus come from?

The word Locus holds two meanings – the genetic term is that Locus is a specific location on a DNA sequence/chromosome that holds information about the gene. But it can also mean a location or place, in general. I thought that the term reflected the vibes of the tunes quite well, because the record is alot about identity and integrity in sudden moments and encounters. How you find yourself in a place or situation, and about how much power we have over who we are and decisions we make in that specific situation.

 

What does the future hold for Badlands?

More records, more tunes, for sure. I’ve already started to get itchy even before the album is out. My phone is full of audio memory notes and I can’t wait to get started on them. But this year my main focus will be on performing Locus.

]]> https://newretrowave.com/2016/04/06/interview-badlands/feed/ 0 https://newretrowave.com/2015/11/30/this-weeks-must-listen-to-album-is/ https://newretrowave.com/2015/11/30/this-weeks-must-listen-to-album-is/#respond Mon, 30 Nov 2015 17:46:53 +0000 http://new-retro-wave.com/2015/11/30/20151130this-weeks-must-listen-to-album-is/ Prepare for greatness...

]]> None other than Zero Call. Listen up folks! This is packed with awesome tracks.

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