The Force Of Power Glove Unleashed

Australia's Power Glove are getting all sorts of rockin love in recent times with the soundtrack they've created for the Far Cry 3 - Blood Dragon video game. This soundtrack, for all intents and purposes makes the game and shows how much a great soundtrack can improve the immersion and excitement of the video game experience. The full twenty five track odyssey is available for purchase on iTunes here and is most assuredly something Synthetix.FM heartily recommends. Their work on Hobo With A Shotgun has been well documented too, which was thrilling to behold.

I thought with the new wave of interest in Power Glove it would be a great time to share some of their older but no less stellar music in celebration of this new soundtrack. Firstly though I'd like to clear up a little bit of confusion about Power Glove. There are two Power Gloves, well, technically there is a Power Glove and a Powerglove. They have some slight similarities in their inspirations and instrumentations but Powerglove  are a much more speed metal oriented band from the USA that do their own renditions of classic video game music.

Power Glove, on the other hand, from Melbourne are a duo of 80s inspired synth producers, who also use video games as an inspiration but in a far less direct way. They also use a lot of guitars but in a more 80s rock style. This confusion is something I wanted to get out of the way just so people are aware they are, indeed, two entirely different musical acts.

Getting back to the music of Power Glove, they just recently shared a group of tracks from roughly four years ago for the first time on Bandcamp and this EP is something of a blueprint which drove the inspirations for many producers since. The marriage of old and new styles began gaining momentum in 2008 and Power Glove were one of the original producers of 80s inspired synth music who's passion for classic sounds still ring true nearly five years later.

As I mentioned, this EP has provided huge amounts of inspiration since the tracks were initially published but still sound just as totally rockin as they did upon release. This is evidenced immediately in Streets of 2043, powerhouse melodies and layers of synth terror coalesce into a video game themed epic of ominous proportions. This piece brings the rawness of the Power Glove style out perfectly, each of their tracks have a gritty and harsh edge to it to them that feels so vital and visceral. Synths aren't polished to gleaming reflective perfection but are instead pulsing with an uncontrollable force that threatens destruction with every chord.

The sample work of Power Glove is something very individualised, too. The Dolph Lundgren samples used throughout Maximum Potential are low-fi and distorted with a rasping hiss that betrays the source material, but it's this that makes them so phenomenal and then takes the unevenness of the sounds into a tonal cataclysm of unrelenting power. This track stands up as one the ultimate classics of the 80s inspired synth scene and it's refreshingly raw timbre is as invigorating as it is exhilarating.

Night Force brings in the darkness of totally rockin dark synth moods with even more details layered en masse to provoke even greater frightening reactions. The Power Glove soundscape is almost always densely packed with a myriad of sounds that haunt with their indecipherable directions but always provide brilliant context to the melodies. This experience is still one of the best examples of dark synth done in a modern manner, while keeping true to the classic soul of 80s synth horror soundtracks.

A running theme throughout the Power Glove experience is the wholesale video game samples, entire refrains of back ground music, replete with sound effects, making for even more surprises from left field that add even more entertainment value. While the previous tracks stick somewhat of a similar thematic the last track is more of a departure as Fantastic Lover (Johnny Moog Remix) takes sleazily fuzzed up funk to the dirtiest of dimensions as the vocal intimates raucous smutty ribaldry. The music is always pushing deeper and deeper into the nether regions and ends up collapsing into an after glow of sweaty satisfaction.

Power Glove presents EP 1 on their Bandcamp page here and is a must-have piece of 80s inspired synth history. If you've not had the pleasure of these experiences previously I can't recommend it enough, and if you have had the pleasure before I recommend revisiting these tracks, for the first time available in uncompressed FLAC format, all over again. To keep on top of future Power Glove experiences be sure to follow them on soundcloud here and like the hell out of them on Facebook here.

Synthetix Weekend Update

We're now in storm season on Synthetix.FM! It's a time when the releases come in thick and fast with unrelenting velocity. Lots of huge releases are scheduled for April and the single releases are falling from the heavens incessantly. This week's Weekend Update breaks all previous records with twenty one hot rockin tracks. Nowhere will be safe and dry! It's time to get out in the elements and bask in the glory of nature and rock the Weekend Update on Synthetix.FM!


 Garth Knight continues his adventures in the realms of 80s funk with sterling new track Stuck In A Rhythm. It's becoming evident that this style of 80s inspired synth is his calling as there is such a smooth effortlessness to the sounds. With a totally rockin vocal track and energy to burn this is one of Mr Knight's finest thus far.




Some new sounds from one of the latest signings to Future City Records with Lazerspek's new track Twilight In The Age Of Man. This is quite unlike anything I've heard before with some of the most brutal side chaining compression I'm yet to experience. I initially found this distracting, but in the context of the track it's grown on me.




ForeignBlade is a new producer on the scene and his latest work, Ghost Patrol, displays a wonderful understanding of how to make some very engaging synth soundtrack styled music. This has a spectacular tonal quality to the soundscape that works perfectly with the arrangements. Download this track now for FREE.




Vestron Vulture's library is growing in mass and quality with each new release. His latest song is called Ellen Page is a dedication full of unrequited love and dark desires. The vocal track is perfect for the slightly sinister music, creating an atmosphere of uneasiness yet one is unable to resist the infectious melodies. Currently available for FREE download also.




C-60 is really bringing his understanding for synth soundtrack music into the disco with his new preview for Rocket Force. The soundscape is beautifully created and explored and combined with a high energy rhythm section makes for an invigorating aural adventure. I do hope an EP or LP release of this styled affair is impending as the preview is solid gold.




With a penchant for the darker side of the synth comes Fetchis with his new release Le Fantome Arrive.
This brooding giallo disco track is absolutely wonderful with the perfect mix of musical elements to create that killer horror vibe. Special mention must go to the stunning drum track, whose sounds and patterns taking on a truly authentic personality.




Fantastisizer is rockin a new tune this week called Secrets. Taking some darker cues which are then infused with hypnotising melodies the simplicity of the experience enforces the power of it as well. The sounds are full of the genuinely 80s naiveté that proves to be hugely engaging throughout the track's duration.




A similar vibe is present in the latest 80s Stallone experience entitled The End. The melancholy piece 80s Stallone magic shows even more exploring of vocal work in his sounds and it something awesome to behold. The effects laden inflictions are full of human emotion and the music feels arranged around the lyrics for maximum atmosphere. Definitely one of the strongest songs I've heard from 80s Stallone.




From one veteran of the scene to another, the enigmatic Mitch Murder shared his latest opus The Touch this past week. This experience goes even more into a dreamlike ambience that is much less dense and complex than this composer's usual fare. But this is by no means a negative, the sparser soundscape allows the listener to fully appreciate each nuance of each instrument all the more. Rapturously executed.




A new rocker on the scene going under the name Molester Moustache caught my attention this week with his eloquently beautiful synth track First Touch. The music is full of warmth and authentic arrangements but also has an energy in the melodies that demands attention. I can but hope this is the first of many rockin Molester Moustache experiences we have on Synthetix.FM.




Ed Harbinger's latest release provides vast amounts of 80s electro energy. Rousseau is full of drama and   raw synth power that rocks hard. This brings to mind a great many of the classic early 80s european producers while keeping some more modern sounds layered in the mix for extra bonus points.




An exciting new preview for Gost's next EP is rockin YouTube as we speak. The dark horror synth of Gost sounds like it's developing in exciting new directions from this preview, I'll be sure to give it the full Synthetix treatment upon it's release.





A new demo for the latest Rutget Megahertz venture, Just Routine, was another highlight this past week. I adore the personality of the track with it's funk bass line, dreamy synth melodies and totally rockin percussion. This demo is currently available for FREE download currently too.




Sternrekorder is back once again with another totally rad new track, Stahlkonstrukt. I love this producer's music a great deal, his sounds are always so authentic and full of 80s love. This latest track is yet another gem from this producer. Please visit his soundcloud page for more Sternrekorder magic if you've not yet had the pleasure.




Evanton's brand of electro fuelled 80s synth has kicked into high gear with their latest track Beverly Hills Pop. The soundscape is unmistakably Evanton with disco chills and synth thrills and this release is positively charged with equal doses of action and drama. This is also currently available for FREE download, so get on it and rock it as soon as you can.




Definitely the biggest news in the scene this week was the return of Power Glove with a new project for the Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon video game soundtrack. This game's development is going for a very 80s motif and by enlisting the always rockin Power Glove for the soundtrack has cemented the hype for this title very securely. The music is pure Power Glove, with lots of drama and energetic sequences all marching into oblivion with a power house rhythm section. Synthetix.FM will be following this project very closely indeed.




Kicking the synth romance back into the scene is Photosynthesi with the teenage crush brilliance of Once Again. The driving drum track provides the perfect background to the layers of synth beauty. Arranged to perfection with a thumbs up freeze frame right before the credits begin to roll this is yet another golden moment from Photosynthesi.




The lead up to Tommy's impending EP keeps gathering momentum and the single he released this week is another window into Tommy's more ambiant moods. The swelling Aurora is full of bright colours and natural beauty, delicately poised upon the horizon with entrancing melodies and total air of triumph. Currently available for FREE download this track is a must-listen-to experience.




Taking a walk into the darker side we find Lost Years crafting all manner of demonic incantations with his new work Rising Of The Dead. I'm not sure just how much dark synth I've heard from Lost Years, but it's not a great deal, I know that much. Whether this is just an experimental diversion or something he plans on exploring more remains to be seen, but I for one greatly enjoyed this adventure into realms of horror courtesy of Lost Years.




Luxury Elite are one of those artists I find vastly entertaining. This slow tracked looping of  80s music is something I really enjoy and along with Laserdisc Visions and Macintosh Plus; Luxury Elite is becoming a real force to be reckoned with. His latest opus, Aerobics, is undeniable in it's brilliance and
totally kick arse in it's execution.




Our final piece on this week's Wekend Update comes courtesy of the always marvellous LA Dreams and his experience called Dreamers. The LA Dreams sound takes on a bit more of an epic soundtrack flair with this new track but it's most certainly full to overflowing with the LA Dreams magic I instantly fall in love with.  The thematic on this track evolves majestically with a really beautifully orchestrated back section that completes the experience.





That does us for the first April Weekend Update on Synthetix.FM, I hope you didn't get too saturated in  the deluge of new music, because there's lots more to come! I'll be back next week with more good times and great rock'n'roll, 'til then stay 80s and keep on rockin.

In Modern Love With Kristine

Greece's favourite daughter of 80s inspired music is without a doubt the inimitable Kristine. The latest work from this artist is a  six track EP with three originals and three remixes. The Modern Love EP is a sublime mix of magical 80s sounds that are charged with poweful emotions and delivered like a number one with a bullet: straight to the heart.




If there's one word I could use to describe Kristine's sound it would be presence. There is a presence this producer radiates in all her music and this is brought to bear even more in Modern Love. The prescence is an intimacy, an emotion and an understanding. It's the presence of Kristine that eminates and resounds throughout every piece of music her glowing touch brushes against.

The EP opens up with the title track. Saturated in desperation and desire, the music symbiotically rises with the vocal performance; from a whisper to a roar, and the build is pure majesty. The instrumentation is the absolute perfect blend of classic sounds, with rhythm guitars accenting the emotive synths and the drums pounding like an intense heart beat. Kristine's singing is easily, in this fan's opinion, the absolute epitomy of the 80s sound and this opener gives her the chance to really bring the listener into an intimate setting that hints at that passion within, before soaring into a chorus of blazing triumph. This song grabs you tight and never lets go as you soar into the summer of Kristine's imagination.

After the first chapter completes and composure is regained the crisply clean delivery of Summer Long Gone begins. It's like the passage of time between tracks has been eons, not seconds, making for passionate memories of a time of innocence and first love discoveries. This song speaks of danger and love in the same breath, cast with a a shadow of yearning wishfulness of a time now irretrievable. The music feels as tortured as Kristine vocal delivery, giving hope little chance and causing the memories to scar even deeper. As the music abruptly ends it becomes clear that the pain of the past will be something that will haunt us, but we must take pleasure from positives of the experience, even if the hurt is almost too much to recount.

Soulful reminising gives way to energised electricity in The Danger as it is now time to rock, harder than ever before. Kristine's always been one to make the guitars work perfectly in her music, and this is definitely the high water mark thus far. The riffs crash with rocktacular resplendence while the drums drive the rhythms hard and the synths cascade in dimensions of keyboard emotions. This artist's gift for arranging songs like feature events is once again made very obvious. A smooth build unleashes an uncompromisingly explosion of musical energies that thunder down from the heavens like a vengegful deity. The Danger is another passionately written adventure with the excitement and precariousness of young love taken on a high speed chase through the night and into a new morning with the sun breaking over the horizon. Looking back into our lover's eyes makes any risk worth it.

The presence of Kristine is felt through every second of these three songs. The whispers of the past constrast with the promise of a future, but it's the intimacy that Kristine maintains through the orchestrations and vocalisations that reallly elevate these pieces into the stratosphere. I can't think of another artist on the planet capable of delivering such a true and passionate modern take on classical 80s sounds in such a complete package and for this reason alone this EP is a Synthetix Reference Experience and a must-have release for any afficionado of authentic 80s music.

The EP is completed with three remixes, Barretso and Power Glove remix Modern Love while the always engaging Mitch Murder takes his hand to The Danger. Each of these remixes works in their own way and stand on their own as brand new experiences in the Kristine universe. Barretso's work has moved away from the traditional 80s sounds and into a more modern personality, his remix takes Modern Love kicking and screaming in 2012 electro house, which actually works on a different level than the original entirely. The music takes on new tones and dimensions while still retaining the Kristine mystique.

Mitch Murder's sounds always seem to combine so wonderfully with Kristine's and this is another case where both artists shine and bask in eachother glows as the rock is reduced but the synths are cranked to the heavens. Perhaps the most interesting remix is the Power Glove remix, a return to the scene for this seminal 80s synth warrior. His take on Modern Love is a dark and furious piece of raw emotion that is really something exceptional to behold. It's like an alternate ending to your favourite movie, adding something familar but twisted into a new meaning; and that meaning in this case is frightening as hell.

Kristine's Modern Love EP is very special release, the three originals are stupendous examples of how to do 80s poprock synth absoloutely perfectly. You will hear many 80s artists in Modern Love's chapters but the overall presence of Kristine is thoroughly overpowering. And it's this presence that is something I can't wait to revisit and feel time and time again.

The Modern Love EP is presented by Tuffem Up! Records on iTunes here and I encourage everyone to indulge in Kristine's wondrous presence as quickly as time allows.

Synthetix Weekend Update

The hot tunes just keep on rockin, making for even more thrilling synth fuelled action in this week's Weekend Update. Let's crank the volume and bring some 80s love into your weekend.

No better place to start than with the new track from Arc Neon. The Doom The Came To Sarnath is a is epic in not only name but in scope and vision. This takes the drama and escalates it into a frenzy of blazing guitars and undulating synths. Even at this Demo stage it's performing beautifully.




Maestro Mitch Murder granted us a killer new track this week and is giving it away for free! "Operator" is a smooth and sparkling synthscapade channelling a little bit of Mann Parrish and blending it with the always gorgeous Mitch Murder magic.




On a decidely Harold Faltermeyer bent we find the new Matt Creamer improvised piece: Fraser Valley Cop III. The funk is flowing like quicksilver in this early preview and the solos just keep rockin more and more as the track evolves.




Taking to the streets and putting the pedal to the metal is the powerhouse new track from Betamaxx called GT California. Right from the opening you know you're in for a lots of fun as the speedy pace gets layered with fierce guitars and menacing bassline. The Ferris Bueller samples are the icing on the cake. Quality track.




A couple of excellent short teasers surfaced this week, the first of which is a killer new track from Lost Years, which is the first chapter of a new EP to be released soon through Rosso Corsa Records. The Lost Years sounds are strong and potent throughout, that's for sure.




Another snippet from an upcoming Photosynthesi track grabbed my attention this week. "Once Again" may only be thirty seven seconds long, but promises unfathomable amounts of 80s beauty. Here's looking forward to the development of this one.




A great remix of Kristine's Modern Love by the masterful Power Glove was shared by TUFFEM UP! Records this week. It takes Kristine's sounds into very dark and frightening dimensions, giving the ambience a much more volatile air. Spine tingling brilliance, right in time for Halloween.




Synthaesthete has been quiet for the last month or so, but his return track ironically titled Leaving certainly goes to show he's still got the 80s love and is rocking it hard. Sweet melodies are hypnotizing while the production makes excellent use of slow fades. Currently available for free download too.




Synh Romance genius LA Dreams is back to releasing multiple tracks per week again. Along with the excellent Falling Close Behind and Beach Rio tracks released this week there was also the truly magical Ally's Fire. This is a sumptuous experience of smooth synths and even smooth 80s sax. The combination of sounds is, once again, a truly authentic 80s experience.




Evanton really grabbed my attention with his perfectly titled track Funky Times the other week and his new track Butterfly continues to keep me tuned in. A smooth, almost jazzy funk piece that lets the synths do all the sweet talking. Antoher gem from this producer indeed.




To finish off this Weekend Update I wanted to share an exceptional piece from Jowie Schulner, aptly titled Time To Say Goodbye. This track is completely astounding in tone and delivery, channeling unfathomably deep emotion. An exceptional experience, and the perfect way to end a big week in the 80s inspired synth scene.




Keep your internet set tuned into Synthetix for more rad times and tubular sounds next week!