20 electrify-ing(!) tales from the recent digital electronic “crop”. From gabber to dubstep and even further…
***In memory of the legendary DJ José Padilla***
FreqGen – ‘Meet Me At The Space Bar’
Somewhere in between synthwave, chill synth and cosmic electronica belongs the latest electronic ‘serving’ by American act FreqGen; ‘Meet Me At The Space Bar‘ is a bold example of a genre-breaking track with some stunning audio design and 178 seconds of electrifying, aural beauty….
My City Glory – ‘Rise of the Replicants’
Behind My City Glory is a music producer, singer-songwriter, composer and sound designer who goes by the name Stephen Coleman, and ‘Rise of the Replicants‘ is the closing track from his recently released debut album ‘Curiosity Door‘, a brilliant, Bladerunner-esque, space drone treat for bold space travellers.
4am Kru & SHANTÉH – ‘King’ (Remix) [Feat. Josh Kye]
London artists 4am Kru, SHANTÉH & Josh Kye join forces to deliver the ultimate jungle banger with a nostalgic UK rave flavour. The pandemic may have spoilt the plans for this year, but this track will be on the run once the “dark rooms” get back in action again… Until then, on repeat!
Soularise – ‘Headway’
Next up we have Soularise, an emerging electronic act, and the debut single ‘Headway‘, a 3-minute, Arpeggio-gasmic treat that will very much possibly trip you out. Looking forward to the next ones already!
Openeye – ‘Monument Valley’
Hope you feel warm enough for an old-school progressive trance hymn in the vein of Tiesto and Gareth Emery, by Openeye and the banger ‘Monument Valley‘. The production is dynamic enough, the vibes are heavenly positive and there is also a 40s twist in the chorus for the most observant spirits. Turn this up loud!
HENRI VICTORIOUS – ‘бес (Bies)’
HENRI VICTORIOUS is a rare bird: He rose to prominence as an elusive producer in the internet hip-hop scene, and has been building a solo career as an influential and affluent producer since 2012. Back to today, the concept for his latest audiovisual vengeance ‘бес (Bies)‘ is vividly explained in the following phrase: “Take the bland lifeless pop culture of yesteryear and create something with a soul, a black soul.” The video aesthetics are closer to the witch house genre, while sound-wise the track is a fine blend of witch house and trap. The multiple sound layers and the clever samples (that damn crow!) unleash a unique goth/wave vibe that most of you will get lost in.
“Trapped in the Witch House!”
Monggrel – ‘Dhakma’
‘Dhakma‘ is an unexampled tune inspired by traditional Zoroastrian funeral practices; A blend of ethno-dub rhythms and lo-fi beats and is taken from one man electronic band Monggrel‘s latest album ‘Ceremonies‘. Will you enter the ‘temple’?
Difee – ‘Bring It Back’
26 y.o. Kristoffer Lund is from Kristiansand, Norway, and creates music under the Difee moniker. He has been producing since he started his teenage years, and his latest release ‘Bring It Back‘ is a “double-universe” delight since it combines two genres of drum & bass and melodic dubstep in the best possible way. Uplifting, well produced and reminded us a bit of 90s era Fatboy Slim’s recordings, in relation the the vocal samples. Banger!
SMATKA – ‘How Long Is Now’
‘There’s nothing left
Nothing left to think about
Nothing left to say
Nothing left at all’
The above lyrics are taken from SMATKA‘s 2nd single ‘How Long Is Now‘ of EP ‘nothingness‘, and is a great follow-up single to their previous one ‘No Future‘. German visionaries Smatka J. Bartz and fellow musician Willi Sieger unleash transcendent experimental electronic vibes bringing in mind acts like Alison Goldfrapp. Still they manage to sound unique. Try this one: It’s emotive, powerful and from another planetary system.
Per Nord – ‘Brazil’
Swedish producer Per Nord is telling us about his latest track ‘Brazil‘: ‘South America meets Ibiza in this track, that’s at least the feeling I’m trying to create here.’ And he did absolutely fine gifting us with a sublime latin house gem late Legend José Padilla would definitely include in all his warm-up sets!
The Evil Dark – ‘Eating The Poor’
The Evil Dark is an unsigned dark synthwave/cyberpunk artist from Washington, D.C., formerly known as Mechanized Warfare. We chose ‘Eating The Poor’ from his recently released, 2nd album ‘Dead World 2189’, a dark cyberpunk/synthwave anthem which could be the ideal soundtrack of ‘the distant dystopian future that some may believe we are on the path towards‘.
Android Dreaming – ‘Koi’
Android Dreaming (Jacob Frieling) is an electronic musician and producer from Madison, WI, and ‘Koi‘ is the opening track off of his latest EP ‘Blossom in the Mind’s Eye‘. A glitchy psydub gem with stunning production and light Eastern music finishing touches. Divine!
Module – ‘Electrochemicals’
‘Electrochemicals‘ is among the most outstanding tracks in the broader synthwave field, a timeless standard for our SynthCity column, and is self-described as ‘synth & vocoder-driven electronic music, sitting alongside crashing drums & bass-heavy production‘. New Zealand-based composer & electronic-musician Module is the man behind this magnum opus.
Visco City – ‘Sixth Week‘
Visco City is the alias of London producer Bobby Turner, and ‘Sixth Week‘ is the intro track to his ‘Solstice‘ EP ( created during week six of lockdown in the UK); An 140 second ride of melodic, glitch soundscapes, future bass outbursts with an idm ethos Needless to say, that we are dealing with an impeccable production.
Expect the unexpected!
Gidion Murrell – ‘Note To Self’
Gidion Murrell‘s ‘Note To Self‘ is a delicate mix of 90s trip-hop, with current instrumental hip-hop. ‘wrapped up’ with an ambient vibe. The track is addictive from start to finish with some pure dope vocal samples. On the loop!
My Gravity Girls – ‘Daybreak’
Italian act My Gravity Girls recently released the video for ‘Daybreak‘: “A simple electronic pop song built around a synth sound. We’ve created it thinking about all the scratches that we left in our past.
Sometimes those wounds are to deep to leave our hearts and can create echoes over time and over life, like the reverbarated beat that follows the entire melody.”
Touchy, melodic & nostalgic!
Nahash – ‘Sangre y poder’
‘Sangre y Poder‘ is a track from ‘Flowers of the Revolution‘, the latest album from Nahash (Tina Blakeney on visuals and Raphael Valensi on bass and electronics) released via SVBKVLT. This one is a heavy bass beast which combines jungle elements and dubstep rhythm. A substantial track for the year of the pandemic….
Evenfall – ‘Monsoon Winds’
‘Monsoon Winds‘ is the first taster and opening track from the EP by the ambient electronic group Evenfall, due out on October 30th, via Heart Dance Records. A pure sonic delicasy!
Spatial Plants – ‘Vagatoria’ (Original Mix)
‘Hypnotherapy is the debut release of our newest member of the ever-growing Blacklite Records familia, Spatial Plants.‘ Hi-tech psy-trance at its very best!
Ploy – ‘Clubtek’
L.I.E.S. needs no introduction. Ploy‘s ‘Clubtek‘ is chosen from his debut LP, and is a twisted, industrial techno treat for the darker corners of the dark-room. Will you try this?
Revisit:
by Christos Doukakis