A sound beyond the horizon.

Static as if tuning into an extra-terrestrial signal that breaks open to reveal the sound of the future, a sound of the past…

In essence one repeated riff plays out endlessly, joined by chords offered in waves, a sure and steady beat guiding the way through the sky.

The bassline drilled into your mind stuck in its assured positioning, confident that it doesn’t need to be anywhere else.

Like in the movie TRON we’re at the threshold of being able to create and exist in another universe — a neon coded simulation— but the sounds are alien, distant and from a galaxy beyond… Somewhere along the line something escaped the primordial ooze to come into being.

French electronic gadget maestro Tommy ’86 is back with a brand new EP entitled “Disco Machine”  released via 86′ Records . This shiny and glamorous assortment of songs is going to travel in through your ears and wear you like a sparkly outfit, its going to make you wanna move and its going to make you wanna party!

Disco Machine captures that feeling of reaching the end of the working week, when all you wanna do is head into the city to hang with your friends and forget about the monotony of your bullshit office job. It’s built upon groove inspired beats and topped with tuneful keyboard parts that are more infectious than Malware; it’s highly unlikely that you’ll resist its charms for long.

The EP erupts with its two strongest songs ‘Revival’ and ‘Back To Basics’, the two of which are absolutely killer tracks. I think I may have listened to these songs back to back more than 8 times and both have this amazing beginning of the night vibe, the kind that fills you with hope and promise for the night ahead and enables you to forget all your worries. When an EP is strictly instrumental like this one (Minus a few vocoder parts), melody and hooks are vital for capturing the listeners attention and ‘Back To Basics’ is a masterclass in how to achieve this, it without doubt bares my favourite hook of the year so far.

The third track on the EP ‘New lands’ is a slightly more lower key dance number in comparison to the records opening two. Even though a prominent beat is still present in all its danceable glory, the synth melody cools off proceedings and helps lower the intensity level to a more dreamier plane. Track 4, ‘If dreams could become reality’ is a soaring and herculean piano ballad that steams forward tirelessly and passionately. This truly beautiful piece of music adds extra dimension and serves as an interesting addition to the record.

The title track wastes no time in pushing the pedal to the metal and quickly lifts us back to the highs experienced on the EP’s opening tracks. This slick and fast paced song takes us on one last jaunt around the dance floor and doesn’t disappoint with its stirring and relentless melody. Finally we wind down with ‘A song for people in love’, a warm and heartfelt conclusion to a great night had. It feels a lot like that train journey home at the end of the night, when you’re surrounded by the blurred lights of passing buildings as you slump contently in a state of reflection.

Disco Machine is a wonderfully paced album and it takes us on an enjoyable ride through a variety of emotions. Its pilot and composer is one who bares an obvious aptitude for electronic music and is one who clearly understands the dynamics of song structure. This EP is more than just a selection of songs thrown together; it plays more like a concept album and it feels a deeply personal one at that. I thoroughly enjoyed this record and I hope you will too, Vive La Tommy!