Arc Neon Turn Up The Night Heat

The UK's Arc Neon are back with a new six track concept EP seductively entitled Night Heat: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. This Director's Cut edition is six chapters of thrilling and arousing synth soundtrack music to the season's most adult feature; rated X for Xcitement.

Late night screenings on your local cable TV provider bring to life the story of betrayal and redemption set against a metropolitan heatwave where tensions explode into crimson passion and rage uncontrollably until the light of morning breaks.

The twin tales intertwine throughout, the good cop who's been set up, and the unbalanced killer, he himself his own worst victim. The quest for justice and lust for bloodshed mirror each's tortured soul. Through the night's blackness each man is tested to their limits, who will break first? And which mistress of both will tame them all?


Prey For Your Life is Night Heat's opening vignette, a steamy and seamy black lace curtain that parts just enough to see a hint of the nocturnal adventures of both characters. Melodies run deep, with a fierce maliciousness. The air is thick with night time emotions, black with intention, and moist with anticpation. This opener sets the stage for all that Night Heat promises to deliver.

The main theme opens up chapter two. The pace rises with the night air and the object of our passions is brought to mind. Through the cool of the night her body rises like the tide, ebbing and flowing. A mistress of untold pleasures and passions sure to make any man bow down, this is her night. The heat is completely pervasive throughout all living beings, yet she's so damn cool.

The lust gives way to terror by the third act, Midnight Madman is the aural encapsulation of a twisted and tortured mind who's pleasures have now been made a viscerally morbid reality. A terrifying lead melody summons the fear in all of us, each fresh victim a step down further into the psychic hell that sets the killer's mind afire. Control is abandoned and the ferverish synth melodies give no solace or reprieve, instead they make the frenzy rise even further. The heat of the night is coloured red with the life that once coursed through it, another citizen falls the blade of a maniac.

The atmosphere relents, finally. The scene changes to night time roof top shadow play. Our hero is on a time limit to disprove the guilt a corrupt court wants to hang him with. Breaking In By Moonlight is the only way to locate the evidence required. The law abider is now breaking the law he was once bound by in a quest to prove his innocence. The solemnity of the night, smooth with rhythm, his silhouette against the night sky. A moment's introspection as to how his life has changed, and how what he once knew as life has turned into bloody game of cat and mouse. The night toys with his emotions as the lock clicks open and the threshold of a new chapter is to be crossed.

The madness returns as the climax is upon us. The killer's jangled, staccato theme springs to life as the night brings the two tortured souls together. The realisation that each of them isn't who they thought they were twists like knives in their backs as the music builds a picture of the real truth. The melodies of madness meld with the familiar themes that once brought us comfort and gave us a sense of right and wrong. All caution is thrown to the four winds as the darkest realisation surfaces between them; the femme fatale has played them both against eachother for her own ends and her own amusement.

Femme Fatale finishes the Night Heat experience, the charm of the dark has now become the face of evil, her eyes no longer sparkle with lust for a partner, but now with the lust for blood. The souls already taken cry out for vengeance throughout, pleading for justice, only to be dismissed by a wave of her hand as the lethal murderess takes two more lives from the city. Both their bodies grow colder as the life leaves their bodies, submitting entirely to the Night Heat.

Future City Records presents Arc Neon's Night Heat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on their Bandcamp here and I recommend you to take this erotic and thrilling adventure into the darkness of the night.

The Next Summer Blockbuster From Alpha Boy

Alpha Boy's new full length album is to be unleashed upon the general public next week on the 4th of September and will be sure to break all opening day box office records. "Heroes On Tape" the records title and it spans the spectrum of 80s cinema gold. Alpha Boy's taken the feeling and spirit of many 80s movies and turned them into new synth odyssey's flavoured with his trademark sounds, along with some new thrills for even more excitement.

I've have had the chance to experience this LP in a private screening in Norman Knight's very own sprawling compound, something akin to Skywalker Ranch but with more neon. The time spent immersed in Heroes On Tape was stunning to behold, bringing back old memories and making lots of new ones. Synthetix definitely gives this album both thumbs well and truly up and applaudes the artist vision and execution of this wonderfully written music. There's lots of surprises along the way and I hope everyone gets to have another blockbuster experience courtesy of Norman Knight.

After the screening Norman and myself sat down in his luxuriously appointed drawing room to have a chat about Heroes On Tape in more detail.



The new record is themed around classic 80s movies and tv. Is this concept something you set out to do, or did it just happen?
It just happened. I was totally inspired by my favorite movies like "Black Moon Rising" and "The Karate Kid". And before I knew it was all finished.

You've taken this theme even further with the inclusion of samples, they're a big part of the new record. Your choices of them and placement in the music is perfectly done. How much effort was it to decide what samples you included?
Mostly it was so that the song was about 90% finished and then I gotten the feeling that 'this scene' from 'this movie' in there would fit now. But it was also very hard to decide which scene takes man because she had to fit well.

I can only imagine how hard it is to decide, have you been collecting samples of dialogue you'd like to use for a while now?
No. I do not collect. Seeking to cut out everything then when I need it, for example from my Laserdiscs, VHS or Betamax.  

Do you think this will become a part of the Alpha Boy sound, or is it something you're just experimenting with due to the concept of the album?
I can not say for sure. But it has made me definitly very much fun to use the cut-outs.

Speaking of samples, that one at the end of Cops And Ninjas is easily my favourite, where did this come from ?
Oh, this is also one of my favorite clips. It comes from the movie "Ninja: Silent Assassin"  from the year 1987. This is definitely a cult film. Alpha Boy says: 80s TRASH MOVIES FOREVER! By the way Rick, we two should open a own Ninja temple to train our Chi .

Hells yes!! I've been hunting down the classic mid 80s ninja movies and main place I've been able to track down the super rockin ones is Germany. The ninja craze was definitely a world wide phenomenon in the 80s, but was this even bigger in Germany?
I don't think so. These films came very late to Germany. And the most Ninja movies where dubbed much later into German. But I can imagine that there were definitely a few Ninja addicted Germans in the 80s.

The music on the new album feels more unfettered and unconstrained than the last album, you seem to be more experimental in sounds and arrangements, is this something you did to push your creativity, or is it a more natural evolution of your production?
Wow that's a great question. So I'll try to answer well. My compositions improved from song to song. I have every time other ideas and visions for my music. But I think all this is a natural evolution. It flows through me down. Ku Fung style.

It defintiely sounds natural, the Alpha Boy sound is very strong with Kung Fu spirit. You seem to gravitate towards the full length album release above singles, or EPs. Is this a way to keep the music more a of surprise to your listeners?
I've never tried to keep listeners. I always wanted to make music that I like myself and the way I would like is what I hope my fans want to hear, but I'm always happy when other people like my music. I released Ep's and Lp's for this reason because every time I want to tell a story with my tracks I think that one track is not enough to tell a the full story.

I know it can be disappointing when an album comes out from an artist I love, only to find there's only a few songs I'd not heard previously. Your choice for going from album to album definitely makes your music sound very fresh and vital, and full of surprises. But conversely to this, do you find it makes building a bigger fan base harder?
Yes, it may well be possible. Sure it makes it harder, but I'm not thinking about it. I would not deal with that because I would have been afraid to compose my music to please others and not me. Every one of my tracks is something very personal for me. I can only advise artists out there not to limit ideas and creativity because he might be afraid that it might not please the audience. This is not good. Do what you feel like. And if you like it then it will please the real fans.

Absolutely, Norman, I can say I found the Heroes On Tape album an absolutely stunning record. I wish you all the best with it. Anything you'd like to finish up with?
Thanks for this interview Rick, I will go now into the ninja temple to smash logs. It's been an honor to give Synthetix another interview. I wish all 80s fans a few sunny days and a lot of fun with my album. Enjoy all the rest of the summer. Fresh! 

Thanks Norman, and keep on rockin my good man!

Heroes On Tape will be available on 04/09/2012 from Alpha Boy's Bandcamp here. Get your ticket to this summer's most rockin synth adventure blockbuster!

Starcat's New Moon

Starcat has only been producing 80s inspired synth music for a few months, but his second track entitled Moon is a massively orchestrated piece of 80s emotion delivered with the skill of a veteran producer.




The beginning reminded me of Duran Duran's Save a Prayer, but all pop synth influence is thrown asunder within seconds. Eclectic drum patterns play our like an electro jazz odyssey and when the bass line kicks in the shapes shift before us into a contrast of black and white in windblown shapes, punctuated by electric claps. What provides majestic contrast to the freeform percussion is some of the most beautiful minimal and slow synth melodies I've had the pleasure of experiencing.

The melodies are ghostlike in weight, but rock solid in presence. Floating in and out of the sharps drum work, weaving through the monolithic structures, flowing with the celestial breeze. I'm totally taken in by these elements coalescing into one, making even the smallest sound detail feel beyond epic and gargantuan in nature.

Starcat's Moon experience is available for FREE download and please give this new producer love of love on his soundcloud here.

Welcome To Prom Night At Arcade High

Arcade High's latest EP is upon us, a rollercoaster ride of teenage love distilled into five tracks of perfect Synth Romance. The Beauty Queen EP is the vision of American high school romance in 1985. A time when we wished we were either dating Molly Ringwald (or Kirk Cameron). A time when our lives were spent either trying to fit in or trying not to fit in, and a time when the slightest touch from our date's hand meant more than life itself.


The evening begins with the title track. Beauty Queen is a sumptuous introduction to the excitement of the night ahead. Slowly building, making every moment count and making the anticipation prom night even more alluring. Meeting up with our date is still hours away, but the sweat on our palms and nervousness is already becoming unbearable. Walking in the cool night air provides a temporary respite as our composure is regained and the smooth synth melodies becomes the remedy to bring back our cool.

The time takes forever to tick by, but it's finally time to meet up. A Blacktop Rendezvous is where we finally get together, so nervous both of us can barely speak, but the music takes us to where we want to be. It says everything we wish we could say to eachother, but are just too scared to. The drive to school seems to take forever, we've taken this trip a thousand times or more, but tonight it's different, tonight feels like the first time and the soundtrack that accompanies us makes it even more special. Let's just be quiet and let the lyrics say what we wish we could.

Through the excitement of meeting up with our friends, we lose eachother in the crowds. The music picks up the pace and the dancefloor fills up. Dream Of Me begins to play and we look for eachother through the throngs filling the gym hall, but you aren't there. The music gets louder and as the melodies reverberate through our hearts, the crowds begin to thin, coloured beams of light flash and illuminate frames of  indicernable humans around us. At this moment our eyes meet and in an instant we are together.

Prom Night begins, as our embrace turns into a slow dance. The music says everything, we don't need to speak. It's a frozen moment in time, that we know will last forever, gazing into eachother's eyes, linked by the music that lingers all about us. If you asked me how long this song went for I couldn't tell you, but it's somewhere between now and eternity. To be any closer at this moment would be impossible, and 'our song' makes it even deeper.

As we move as one around a dancefloor that seems all of sudden very empty it becomes clear that nobody else matters tonight. This is the time, this is it. We both lean forward and our lips meet in a kiss that feels like that first time earlier that semester. The electric touch charges between us and beats as our hearts pound together. The kiss that means everything to both of us. The kiss we never want to end. I feel you hold me tighter and I open my eyes as you pull away slightly and whisper ever so gently "You said forever..".

Arcade High's Beauty Queen EP is available on Bandcamp here for $4.95 and is the perfect soundtrack to any night when you want to be young, in love and in 1985.

Tommy's Outer Space Adventurers

In a few weeks we'll be given the pleasure of experiencing a new Tommy record entitled Outer Space Adventurer. This huge occassion being preceded by the release of the title track along with two remixes. It's time to get the anticipation ramped up to hyperspace as this first foray into Tommy's new cosmic adventure sets the night sky on fire with burning rocket boosters and vapour trails shooting to the horizon.



The tone of this release from Tommy brings a more mature layer of sounds to what he's already established as the 'Tommy Sound'. The title track encapsulates that Tommy magic in a hypnotizingly blissful opening that pulses with the energy of the cosmos. Stars shift and orbits widen through a series of orchestrations that build like chromed echoes timed to the beat of the universe. Deep space is an enveloping and tangible shroud around us, at one with the star shine refraction that penetrates time itself. Undulating in the cosmic rhythm, our journey with the Outer Space Adventurer begins.

In a threeway split across the dimensions the original vision is reflected and redirected through new planes of existence in the remixes of Outer Space Adventurer. Jordan F's takes flight to a more somber, but still exuberant quadrant of the Tommy galaxy with his remix.



As the distant nebulas are lit by the glow of giant suns, time becomes irrelevant and the melody is allowed to transport the listener beyond our conceived notions of space. It's an experience of jubilation and awakening. A passage in the journey that exists like a parallel reality, the depth of feeling carried through light years of space at a speed beyond comprehension.

Jordan F's rework is an emotionally different version of the original, leading us to new planespheres, introspectively asking us the questions of space travel and it's effect on the human condition,  and just as we begin to feel a new level of understanding, our stellar embrace is released and freefall beings as MegaDrive takes up a new quest.



Lift off from planet earth and we embark on a new Outer Space Adventure, the light of a new galaxy shines and our vessel is taken in a new direction. The quest for new lifeforms finds us in an alien galaxy populated by creatures the likes of which we've never seen. Beings of light caress and guide the craft into the nether regions of Andromeda.

The music becomes the light of a thousand beings, welcoming us into their new world, sharing their experience and history. Creating new memories as the Outer Space Adventurer learns he is not alone and feels the power of these beings pushing him even further into the unknown universe in front of him. Mega Drive's vision is another facet to this track that brings a mechanical, yet still organic mood to the experience.

Tommy's Outer Space Adventurer album is due out in September and will be covered on Synthetix upon it's release. Prepare to experience space travel you've never dreamed of before in the mean time!

Viks Lander's Quest

Just released on Future City Records is a stellar debut EP from synth maestro Viks Lander. 'Quest' is very apropriate title for this adventure into the moods and tones of 80s synth sounds, there are a myriand of inventive arrangements and sounds throughout the two pieces and makes for a totally absorbing listening experience.



The avant garde nature of Viks Lander's work is apparent right from the beginning of Prelude. A staccato percussion intro leads into rich sound piano rhythms before the sounds become electrified with synthesized beauty. As we continue through the vocal track, something akin to a Clannad or Enya sound provides massive complimentary elegance to the experience. The simplicity of the sound is delicately poised to a heavenly dream like ambience with this human element of sound, enriching things exponentially.

Our amorphous adventure is further  accented by an electric guitar who's tempered pitch is bent to form a rainbow arc over the clouds of synthesized vistas before us. I believe Prelude is much more than an 'intro' style piece, so please don't be lead to think this anything less than half of this EP, it speaks volumes about Viks Lander's influence and innovation, setting the stage for the next vignette: Quest.



Jungle sounds and a heavy atmosphere, humid and rich with life echoes through the beginning of quest. Pan fluted sounds and tribal drums are lush in delivering and transgressing through the ages. Bringing the ancient to the modern, and the modern to the ancient. A juxtaposition of glorious textures and layers going from the forest floor to the canopy above. This Quest is not one of panic and high action, this Quest is an introspective summation of ourselves. An inward gaze to our lives in nature's beauty.

The serenity of what we behold in our ears, hearts and minds is what echoes throughout the Quest, it's a wondrous allagory for what music gives us. The power of enlightenment, the touch to the soul, the warmth of the love. Viks Lander gets this, and delivers it to us directly from his mind to ours.

This EP feels very intimate. There's nothing on these two tracks that doesn't feel like it's a token, or without weight. It's something magical and deep to experience, but also light and uplifting. A perfect 80s experience from a new morning star on the dawn's horizon.

The Quest EP is available for FREE download on Future City Records Bandcamp site here and be sure to give the man himself lots of love and support on his soundcloud here.

Synthetix Weekend Update

Back with lots of hot rockin action on Synthetix for this week's Weekend Update! Time to get your neon lit and your hight tops on for some of the highlights from the 80s inspired synth scene.

There's a bit of a trend towrds the more esoteric and atmospheric side of 80s synth in this Weekend Update and setting the tone right from the outset is Garth Knight's powerfully emotive new piece of sexxxy synth work called Solid State. This is a slowed down and sensual bass line driven work of searing possibilities and midnight rendezvous, smoooth.




Keeping the mood mellowed and bringing in some more of the late night synth action is LA Dreams' new track Westbound Late Train. Chill vibes and moonlit melodies are the romantic core of this experience.The darkness is obscured by the passion when the solo hits and the night explodes into a crescendo of after hours 80s ellicitations.




Andy Fink cranks up the synth drama in the demo of his new track 2912. This is looking like being a huge track, with blockbuster synth leads and a star studded cast of classic 80s sounds. Even at this early stage I think this going to be super special, the mood and builds are already very special.




While we're on exciting promises of things to come a short teaser for a new Jupiter Gang track surfaced recently that definitely lights my fire. The track is Starz and it's a gloriously funky adventure into 80s electro synth. Jupiter Gang does this style so perfectly, every new track is another text book in this style. Total brilliance.




Betamaxx has been getting a lot of my attention of late and his track Liquid Skies is testament to this. This is a superb piece of supremely spatial 80s synth love. The uplifting melodies and the crisp rimshot echo lead to an explosion of inspirational beauty. This track is up for FREE download too, so get on it!




Lazerhawk's shared a new odyssey in ethereal and haunting synth with his track Limit City. As a soundtrack to your most foreboding nightmare this track will push you over the edge. The wraith-like melodies are distilled terror and when the panic is elevated to fever pitch your only option is to succumb to the madness.




To finish up this week's Weekend Update we have a new video from Arcade High. This is very special in that it's not only the first official video for an Arcade High song, but also the first with a vocal track. This is a great piece of 80s synth romance, and I defy this not to give you a warm glow this weekend.




I hope you enjoyed this week's Weekend Update on Synthetix and I hope it brought some more 80s magic into your weekend. I look forward to bringing you more rockin tunes from the world of 80s synth music next week.

A Summer Breeze Cut By Rain Sword

A scintillating new synth artist has been brought to my attention. I say new as he is new to me, but he's been producing quality 80s inspired synth music for more than a year now. His name is Rain Sword and his latest release, Summer Breeze is an absoloutely stunning example of a producer getting everything absolutely 1000% right.



I've listened to this track many times now, each time trying to digest and separate the elements as to why it's so special. The answer came to me on about the 15th listen when I realised something rather serendipitous and epiphanic. This music we love isn't about notes, chords, sounds and melodies. No. These are elements that make up the aural space we experience but the real and ultimately most important intangible article each magical composition has is feeling.

It was today that I realised that the 80s was not only a time, a place and an experience but the 80s is also a feeling. A feeling brought about through emotion and love. For all the trappings of the 80s we all adore, from the neon, to the cosmic grids, through all the other icons of this time, the one thing that ties it all together is the the 80s feeling. A feeling of jubilant excitement, a feeling of a near future, a feeling of first loves and of unparalleled adventure.

All these feelings are what makes the 80s experience so wonderfully intimate. Familiar, yet new. Classical, yet avante garde.It's the experience of this that I try to convey through words, but artists like Rain Sword in his Summer Breeze track convey through the power of music perfectly. Summer Breeze
is a languid slice of melodicly driven synth brilliance. The amount of emotive feeling that is positively pulsating through every single note is stratospherically elevating.

The production remains uncomplicated, as all the best emotions are, so each nuance of sound is given the weight and respect it requires to make it's emotive response as strong as possible. The delicate sustain, the crispness of the hi-hats, the deep echo of the percussian. The feelings are so strong from beginning to end of this wonderful track and by it's conclusion a satisfying afterglow drenches the listener in rapturous 80s ecstacy.

This is a massively impressive track from Rain Sword, and I encourgage all devotees of quality 80s to go through his back catalogue on his soundcloud page here and enjoy his previously released pieces. I do believe, however, that Summer Breeze is this artist's strongest production thus far, and in saying that is instills much excitement to experience his next encapsulation of true 80s feelings.

Perturbator's Machinations In Nocturne City

Perturbator is definitely one of the most prolific producers of quality 80s dark synth currently. His releases are always engaging and polished to black reflective sheen. Deep, marauding and powered with a primal energy. With each new single and EP release Perturbator's craft has been developed further and with his Nocturne City EP the artist raises the bar even further.



Standing more as a complete story than individual tracks the use of the soundtrack style thematic is present in every piece. The story is tight, and it's more a group of paragraphs than chapters, this could easily be mixed into one epic track that would bring forth the essence and soul of this work even more directly.

As it stands, the six vignettes of Nocturne City present a futuristic urban dystopia that is punctuated by the lives of those living within the neon lit concrete monoliths. Permanently darkened skies only lit by the manmade fires along the skyline, streets bathed in cold, wet from punishment and stained from life. The time is 2084, hope is fleeting, pain is enveloping and the future is now.

Through the introductory passages the tone of Nocturne City is unmistakable, the power of it's delivery with melancholy melodies and the trademark Perturbator percussive tracks. We are guided by the hand through the darkest alleyways in the heart of the city. When 'Fantasy' begins the perfect commentary sung by Dream Koala completes this vista of dereliction. Haunting in every respect, laced with disdain and devoid of any chance of escape.

The story continues on a cinematic course of darkened discoveries, the tortured melodies of synthesizers accompanying us. The swell of an all powerful aural miasma is present at all times, slowly infecting our senses like a Siren's call that is impossible to reamin unaffected by. As the EP wends through  Night Business and There Is No Love Highway our plight becomes more and more insignificant, the sounds that surrounds us becomes the only real light and spirit and our souls are solemnly whisked away to another dimension by it's completion.

To finish off this story, Perturbator has included the superb high octane Vengeance (The Return Of The Night Driving Avenger) this is the perfect exclamation point to mark the climax of this EP. A departure from the other tracks this is a great piece of escapist synth rapture. The mood is still inky black, but now coursed with lightning flashes of the rawest power. As this final paragraph fades our story becomes complete. The characters we have shared the experience with are now a part of ourselves, like a piece of our history forever recorded into soundscape of storytelling symbolism.

Nocturne City is a place no one should be without and you can get your own piece of Perurbators imaginatively epic orchestrations courtesy of Aphasia Records on iTunes here, and make sure you follow him on soudncloud for even more dark synth action here.

Synthetix Weekend Update

With so many great releases over the last couple of weeks and a lot more on the horizon it's sure been a a great time to be a fan of 80s inspired synth music of late. Let's check out some of the highlights from this past week of rockin action in the scene.


Jordan F is shifting his production rate into turbo drive of late, with the excellent Summers Of Tomorrow EP still fresh in our minds he imparted a new single to us this week in Aurora.  Continuing the artist's current thematic of glassy midpaced synth work Aurora shines with a controlled and deliberate feel to the melodies and arrangments that resonates beautifully.





Time to get some rockin funk synth action into your weekend. Seipa's worked his remix magic on a Will Ryder's track Scene 5. I absoloutely love this melodies in this and bassline is a complete monster of unbridled electro funk power. When the disco hi-hats open up towards the end of the experience I'm in total 80s heaven.




One of the true modern masters of 80s synth music is the legendary Action Jackson. His work over the years has always been in the upper echelons of the best of the best and his recent releases have concreted this. His lastest single, Walking In West Berlin '85 is a total masterpiece in melodies and arrangements but also in the subject matter. Totally rockin.





From established artists to one of the rockin new kids on the block, MegaDrive. In his short time producing 80s synth this producer's already riding a neon crested wave of quality musical experiences. With his latest piece, Pulse of the Streets we're taken into a perfectly paced production of synrh drama, evoking moods of melancholic reflection, but also jubilant in it's delivery. I'm sure you'll feel the magic throughout this track.




Keeping the city streets theme, but shifting the pace up a few notches we have another great release from Garth Knight to enjoy. With his Alpha EP still fresh in our minds he's given us a massively action packed new track; City Streets. Superb percussive work and an unrelenting bassline make this one hell of wild ride through the urban jungle.




LA Dreams is fast becoming one of my top 5 producers of 80s inspired synth music. This artist has a feeling and soul in every piece he releases that is truly awe inspiring. His gift for what makes a real 80s melody is majestic and he always gets the instrumentations 1000% rockin on point. His track Sports just reinforces this, a gorgeous and polished piece of solid 80s gold.




Our final piece of 80s love for you this weekend is the magnificent new promo for Mitch Murder's Glass Cities EP courtesy of the always rockin Neros77. With the Glass Cities EP due for release on the first of September, this is sure to get every 80s devotee champing at the bit for the chance to own their own little piece of Mitch Murder magic. I can't wait for this EP to finally his the streets and I'll be sure to give it lots of attention on Synthetix upon it's release.




I hope this weekend's Weekend Update on Synthetix got you into that 80s state of mind and keeps you rockin, I'll be back in the coming week with lots more synth action for your enjoyment and delectation.

Vincenzo's Voyage

Future City Records' latest release is a sterling new EP from 80s synth producer Vincenzo Salvia entitled Voyage. I had no previous knowledge of this artists existence up until this release and I'm now a fan for life. Over the four chapters of this adventure we're taken through glorious landscapes of 80s synth beauty, through a myriad of galaxies and the nether regions of the universe.



It becomes immediately apparent that Vincent Salvia knows his 80s sounds. Every element of each track is a finely honed pink neon blade of distilled 80s essence. As with all the best 80s inspired synth music it's the emotive and engaging melodies that contain all the magic and across the lenght and bredth of this EP Salvia's gift for rousing and enlightening melodies are what makes this Voyage a memorable and joyous experience.

The spiritually enriching Midnight Breeze is the perfect opening track, setting the first chapter of the Voyage on a night flight through violet clouds lit by yellow moons, continuing into a pulsing nebula of a thousand stars. The ease in which this piece twists and caresses the listener is as uplifting as it is infectious and the cool breeze is felt against our cheek as the stratosphere becomes our highway.

Ocean Drive continues the Voyage into the heavens, the stars sparkle like a floating sea of lights. Majestic melodies are crescendoes of synthesized waves leaving a wake of swirling electric music behind us. The engine roars to life and our starborn craft is hurtling through inky dimensions of cosmic grandeur and exhilerating vistas.

The third leg of the Voyage takes place on a new mode of transport, boarding a star cruiser through the dawn of a nebula. The suns warms the atmosphere as our soundtrack remains sparkling and light. A cruise through the new day of a new heavenly body, bathed in light with glistening melodies that warm the skin and the soul. The blackness of space becomes coloured with oranges and pinks and the glow of the stars around us make this morning one that will laste forever.

Our fourth Voyage makes our journey complete. Time and space become a mechanised engine of shooting stars and solar flares. Unbridled power surges through the atmosphere charging everything it touches with  a neon glow aura, beings of light radiate waves of energy through every colour of the rainbow and beyond. Soaring through this technicolor vision of vibrant beauty we complete our Voyage, thoroughly effected by the beauty we've experienced.

Vincenzo Salvia takes up places once thought impossible on this Voyage and with such a powerful and beautiful EP as this being his first, one can but imagine where this producer will take us next. This Voyage is also a FREE ride and is available through Future City Records here. Give Vincenzo lots of love on his soundcloud here and lets hope we get to share more interstellar experiences with him in the future.

Judge Bitch And Perturbator Raise The Chimera

Two of the leading producers in 80s dark synth music have combined their diabolical forces to create a beast of a track. A chimera was a mythical creature which was the combination of a lion, snake and goat. The resultant animal was the source of many adventures in terrifying battles of good versus evil.

Throughout the ages the legacy of the chimera has been retold to many generations. Instilling fear and and the foreboding of dark consequences to those that extoll it's wrath. This time around Judge Bitch and Perturbator have summoned a thumping synth adventure through the ages of of time itself. Inspired by the classic Commodore 64 title of the same name this episode of demonic instrumentation will have you on your knees begging for mercy.




The almost chiptune Teriminator 2 homage intro leads the way to digitized screams of CHIMERA while a thunderous bass drum creates quakes of power. The early parts have shades of early Mr Vector (never a bad thing) but when the main melody kicks in we're elevated to new realms of fantasy, as if through a doorway directly to mythological Greece. Ancient vistas spread before us as humanity rages in battles agains the awesome force of the Chimera.

Something akin to a quicktime event from the latest in the God Of War franchise ensues as the beast summons all it's powers for the final assault, leaving massive carnage in it's wake before disappearing through the heavens, leaving humanity to wonder when it will strike next; and will we survive it's next attack?

Such rampaging force is experienced throughout this amazing work and the strengths of both artists are prominent from start to finish. It is certainly another feather in both of their brass helms and once again goes to show how much magic can be summoned in these collaborative projects.

Chimera is available for FREE download, so please add this to your music library as soon as possible and make sure you give both artists the credit they deserve on their respective soundcloud pages, Judge Bitch's here and Perturbator's here.

Jowie Schulner Steals Hearts

Jowie Shulner is one of the true reanaissance men of the 80s inspired synth scene. This illustrious producer released quality music across numerous genres and also runs the Boombar Music label. This man has been one of the staples of the scene for years, and when he's deemed one of his tracks 'complete' and ready for mass consumption it's a very special day indeed.

This day isn't today though, we'll have to wait a couple of weeks before we're given the full experience, however the prerelease on soundcloud is very, very encouraging as to the quality we should expect. Two Hearts promises to be a special 80s inspired synth experience par excellence.

 

I'm going to call this style 80s synth music Synth Romance. There is a special quality associated with this style, you can hear and you can feel it. Like in LA Dreams 84 Crush, MPM's Secret Fantasy, Tommy & Perturbator's Night Vibes, Lovinsky's Dreamcatcher and even in StardonE's Space Romance (amongst many other tracks) theres an element of exuberant emotional love.

I'm not talking about sexxxy Synth Erotica here, but real first love, true love, innocent love. The elements that make this so beautiful are delicately woven through Two Hearts. The pace is driving and exciting and the promise of a touch of her hand and the thought of her kiss prove to cause the electricity to charge and course throughout our very being. It's the anthem to the first smile you see, the first glance in your direction across a crowded room. The first time you hold her close.

It's this that makes Synth Romance such a powerful sub genre of 80s synth music and it's something that I hear every time I listen to Two Hearts. Like many experiences like this, it is fleeting, the track just hits home and sets fire to our hearts and then it's fading away, winking ever so cheekily in our direction that we're going to be getting more exciting experiences, but we have to wait until the 20th of August until we can feel the full crush force.

But the time will defintely make the heart grow fonder as we're also in for a Final DJ's remix of Two Hearts included in this release, which definitely raises my excitement level to fever pitch. Make sure you preorder your personal lovel letter from Jowie Schulner by clicking here, and give this worthy artist lots of love and support on his soundcloud here.

You never know what Jowie might share with us next, I personally am hoping for a full version of Friends Forever to surface one day, as this is one absolutely stunning pieces of superlative 80s synth love. This production cries out through the ages to be completed and released. We can but hope!

The Return Of Palm Highway Chase!

There must be something in the air as the scene seems to be witnessing the return of quite a few 80s inspired synth producers from years past are releasing wonderful new piece of classical styled synth magic. To add to this list is the return another of my favourites from the first golden age of the 80s synth revival, none other than the inimitable Palm Highway Chase.

Before we get into his new work, I thought I'd be remiss not to remind you of some of his previous work. My first experience with Palm Highway Chase was on the legendary MOTU 2 compilations, specifically the V2 edition, the track was entitled Street Hawk and it's still as totally bitchen as it was when it came out in January 2009.



The artist's previous release, 'Valet Run', was a much more Nu-Disco styled affair, and upon the release of Street Hawk and then the epic 'Escape From New York' album, Palm Highway Chase's sounds become the perfectly honed 80s synth brilliance, full of beautiful sounds and dramatic arrangements and his prolific line up of releases that followed found the artist experimenting in more varied sounds.

'Summer' from mid 2009, the two volume 'Evermore' albums and the brilliant 'Songs For Rocky' album are all must-hear 80s synth experiences. There's a visionary modern edge to the later records from this artist, and none of this is more pronounced than in the absolutely stunning Homerun track from Songs For Rocky form 2010. This is the definition of spectacular 80s synth combined with modern day magic.



And this is where we come to Palm Highway Chases' latest work. After roughly two years of silence we've been granted the enormous pleasure of sharing in a preview version of his new track: Sylvester At The Floor. Now, I'm not usually one for posting preview or teaser tracks on Synthetix outiside of Weekend Updates but I'm willing to break this rule for something as spectacular and promising as a return piece from an artists as auspicious as Palm Highway Chase.



This swirling stereo synth smorgasboard of sounds is stunning, even in it's preview form. The melodies are cut from the same vibrant cloth as previous Palm Highway Chase experiences, and the dreamlike trance we're drawn into is a sumptuous aural feast.  As new sounds and layers are introduced, blended the overpowering melodies are taken to galactic levels of presence and awareness.

Although not strictly an 80s synth track in the definitive sense this piece is definitely riding a wave of 80s magic through a kaleidoscope of glorious vintage synth sounds and the positive 80s vibe throughout is undeniable.

We can only hope this return is a sign of lots more music from Palm Highway Chase, so please make sure you give him lots of support on his soundcloud here and make sure you pick up some of his earlier releases on his Bandcamp,here.

Synthetix Weekend Update

It's been what I'd call a Perfect Week in the 80s inspired synth music scene. Lots of great releases, exciting teasers and more new artists appearing. We had some incredible new music this past week and this Weekend Update is brimming over with even more!

New music from Spaceship Star has just surfaced with the excellent title of Space Is Died. This moody piece feels a bit 70s prog inspired and a luna dirge rife with powerful emotions. It's been a while since we've heard from this act and I'm loving these newly developed sounds.




One of the new bands I've had the pleasure of experiencing this week comes in the form of  Some Desperate Glory and their totally rockin song The Devil's In The Details. These guys are totally killing the classic early to mid 80s UK synthpop sound with totally perfect sounds and melodies. The vocals are also a magnificent example capturing the spirit of the true 80s sounds. I'm really looking forward to hearing more from this thrilling band.




Final DJ's new release entitled Synthopia exploded this week and is another work of French Touch flavoured 80s synth love. This duo always manage to get the balance of classic and modern sounds just right, and always with massive emotion throught the melodies. This track is part of the So French Records Summer Compilation, so please support them by following the links in the player.




Serial electro rocker, Flash Arnold shared a scintillating new track with us this week entitled The Streets Of Metropolis. The trademark Flash Arnold synth sounds are complimented beautifully with orchestral stabs and massive percussion. Another masterwork from one of the scene's brightest starts.




Another impressive new act made themselves aware to me this week and their brand of killer 80s synth pop is something very enthralling. Public Different's track Emergency from their Vulgar Refund Of The Proverbial Shock is a driving synth scape filled with delicate nuances and emotive melodies. I hope that this brand of 80s inspired music is something they stick with in the future as they do it very well indeed.




One of my new favourites in the scene is SellorekT/LA Dreams, who from this point on this site will be referred to as LA Dreams . This artist is blowing my mind with every new track he releases, the fact that theres numerous of these masterpieces released every week is even more mind blowing. My favourite of his releases this week is '84 Crush. Magnificently arranged and detailled throughout this is another surefire 80s heartstealer. With all these tracks out I'm really hoping an album from LA Dreams isn't far off.




80s dreamboat synthpop master Patrick Baker got thousands of teenage hearts swooning this week with a teaser release of his next number 1 hit Whatever It Takes. This is pure 80s pop gold, in the inimitiable Patrick Baker style. It's marvellous to hear the sax making a return appearance in this new song too. Super cool and rockin hard, brilliance is here.




I'd like to finish of this week's Weekend Update with a killer new video from Classique. This video document's Classique visiting Flashworx in Geneva and is set the FLashworx remix of Futurecop!'s Karate Kids. These video producers will be doing lots more work in the 80s inspired synth scene in the future and I look forward to sharing more Classique experiences with you in the future on Synthetix.




That does us for a massively rockin week I hope I get to see you on here over the next 7 days on the internet's premiere 80s inspired music site.

Jordan F Takes Summer To Tomorrow

It's a pretty cold winter here in Australia. I always feel like this part of the world is a bit out  of wack when it comes to the global electronic music scene. The northern hemisphere's summer, and all the hits that go along with that, is right in the middle of our most dismal weather. Thst said, it's actually refreshing to here bouncy summer anthems in the middle of winter, it always seems to bring a bit of extra warmth to the season just hearing the tropical sun filled tunes that are always in abundance this time of year.

So when Australia's premier 80s inspired synth producer, Jordan F, releases a new EP, slap bang in the middle of winter entitled Summers of Tomorrow it's received here in it's country of origin as a bittersweet affair. Our summer is indeed many tomorrows away and it's gives a delightfully juxtaposed experience throughout the EP as this isn't about bouncy colour saturated tracks. Jordan F's future summer is grim. It's not sunfilled azure skies and pina coladas at Club Tropicana, it's gray, violent and DANGEROUS!



The Summer of Tomorrow is the post apocalyptic nuclear nightmare, fraught with villainous characters, seething moods and the quest for sheer survival. This is a reinvention, revision and reincarnation of a couple of previous Jordan F experiences along with extra vignettes to tie the season's bereavings together. This end result isn't what I'd call dark synth, in the classic Perurbator/Protector 101 style, but more of a nihilistic synth style. There is no hope in this music, there is no escape, we will not see the sun again and we will not be saved by a twist ending in the dying moments of the experience.

For all this catastrophic darkness, there is lightness and vibrance in all the tracks contained, there is that childlike innocence calling out through the darkness to inspire the survival instinct, the glimmer of hope that is so fleeting that one's mind barely even recognises them. The step forward that is only going further into destruction, isolation and oblivion. These glances of light prove to only make the gods of fate mock us even further and by the completion of every track on this EP you realise the Summer of Tommorrow is a mirage. The promise from the past that the future can't fulfill. The unattainable dream that no one will ever experience.

Although previous versions of some of these tracks may have already been experienced by the listener, when put in the context of this EP all previously conceived ideas of their meanings and messages are forfeit. I can barely recognise some of the songs. Their production, presence and personality has evolved into a monstrous new persona of totally immense proportions. By the time you realise it's actually new retelling of Renegade its much, much to late to even think about contending with explosive violence contained in it's regenerated and demonified new veil of brutality.

This is consistent throughout the five chapters. Each one begins with a new story of humanity in the face of adversity and each one ends with adversity triumphing over humanity. Melodies are knives of slashing hatred, drums are gunshots fired in pure anger and arrangements are set to deadly game of cat and mouse that will always end with terrible certainty.

The Summers Of Tomorow EP is a powerful work of the darkest synth arts, and as a fable of a possibe future is a cautionary tale of what could be our future summers. For those wanting to test their threshold of terror this soundtrack will make the experience vividly realistic and I encourage you to be taken into this nightmarish vision, courtesy of Jordan F.

You can download your copy of Summer of Tomorrow for FREE courtesy of Rosso Corsa Records by following the link here. Be sure to show your appreciation for this artist's fine work on his Facebook page, here once you've fully recovered from this exhausting and exhilerating experience.

Garth Knight Takes Excitement To The Alpha Zone

Garth Knight's long awaited Alpha EP is now available for your listening pleasure courtesy of Telefuture Records on iTunes. I've become a bigger and bigger fan of Garth Knight's tracks over the last couple of months and this new EP cements what is the Garth Knight sound.

The mixture of dramatic synth disco, overdriven guitars and driving percussion is the Garth Knight sound. His bright production is another mainstay, clear and defined and very traditionally 80s sounding. The instrumentation is balanced beautifully with nothing being lost in the mix and the power players of the sound always delivering knock out punches.



The sound is one thing, but the arrangements and melodies are another. Garth Knight's one of the rare producers around who gives the guitars a real presence in all his track, they never feel like an after thought and it's this complimentary nature of how his synth and guitars work together that brings out vibrant 80s magic throughout his EP.

The drama is set from the Intro opener but when the opening tracks perfectly titled Overdrive kicks in you know you're in exhilerating experiences that are going to rock you hard. I hear so many classic 80s artists in Garth Knight's music, especially Michael Sembello and Kenny Loggins, the music is a complete time capsule and it's the unerring nature of this EP that contains huge amounts of the mandatory ingredient for every 80s inspired synth composition: excitement.

Whether it's barrel rolling a fighter jet, or surfing a barrel on the dangerous Hawaiian coastline, or the flash of lasers through a smokey haze in the club it's a tangible excitement that Garth Knight provides the soundtrack for. The Babylon is the ultimate request to get the night rockin in any club in 1985 and the following title track is a bass oriented moody setter that slows the frenetic pace down, but still keeps excitement high.

The bass line melody carves through dense layers of atmospheric synthesizers in a totally smooth manner, driving the funk feeling into deep melodrama. The final excursion on Alpha is a aptly titled Juggernaut. The guitars are once again the stars as solo after solo dazzle the listener while pinpoint percussive details light up the fireworks even more If you do any sort of physical training this is the track you need for your next montage. The Juggernaut is a powerhouse of motivationally magnificent music, the perfect way to finish the EP as it does what every final track should, and that's make you want more!

The Alpha EP is a true appetizer to what I'm hoping will be a full length album from this producer. I can but imagine the realms of excitement Garth Knight will be able to take us to overy a full length release. As it stands the Alpha EP is a must have release for any devotee of quality 80s music, the experience is one of excelling 80s excitement. Listen to this EP at work, at play, while travelling or whenever you need any excitement in your day and I'm sure you'll find this music will enhance your experience exponentially.

Pick up your copy of the Garth Knight's Alpha EP on iTunes here courtesy of the wonderful people at Telefuture Records.