Turboslash – EP I
By Chris “Python Blue” Day
It’s great to see when new people start making an appearance to give some fresh air to any scene. That being said, upon discovering “EP I” by Turboslash, I was very pleasantly surprised by how well-produced it was.
While the tags for the EP include “darkwave”, I don’t consider it as relentlessly dark-sounding as Perturbator or Carpenter Brut, which is not a bad thing. In fact, while it kicks off with a track reminiscent of typical dark synth (“Deathracer”), half of the tracks sound fairly light-hearted in melody (particularly “Vice Point Illumination”), even if a somewhat foreboding arrangement a la Gary Numan’s remakes of his classic material. There are also some other nice twists in the tracks; “Red Dragon” fails to make the listener bored with its changing rhythms. “Nostalgia Polyglider” definitely speaks for itself, and “Night Drive” is most definitely the most in-line with traditional synthwave in title, while “Sputnic Sunrise”’s haunting chords bring a pretty powerful finale to the EP.
“EP I” by Turboslash is very highly recommended by Synthetix.FM and is available on Turboslash’s own Bandcamp page here.
Ravenh0lm - Electromagnetic Radiation EP
By Kaleb Alfadda
Ravenh0lm describes himself as a Musician from Dublin, Ireland who mainly writes Synthwave with "the occasional trance and techno tracks". A fusion of these two styles is evident in creating the atmospheric and incredible harmonies in his latest EP 'Electromagnetic Radiation'.
Beginning with 'Pulsar', the song bleeds with the feelings of a synthpop hit. Gracefully arranged with warm analog sounds, such as creamy poly synths, it gives a feeling of a spaciousness. It always amazes me that Ravenh0lm can use maybe 2-4 synths at most and still get such a rich sound.
This attention to symphonic-esque detail carries over into 'Vega', the second song of the 3 song EP (yeah, it's that short). Immediately grabbing your attention with a hypnotic Kick & Bass beat, the song slowly unfolds, building you up then letting you fall when the song hits the 2 minute mark. After inducing you into this dreamlike state, an absolutely beautiful arpegiatted melody brings a smile to your face.
'EMR' the third and final song off this EP bolsters with an Outrun type of feeling. With Ravenh0lm's usual atmosphere in place, we get a sense of heroism and danger in 'EMR'. Tied together with a funky percussive beat that tastefully fades in and out throughout the song, It's a perfect ending to this short EP.
At the end of the album, you're left wanting more. Not because of the length, mind you. Trevor 'Ravenh0lm' Bracken manages to create almost 17 minutes of music in this EP, and with songs filled to the brim with atmosphere, each planting itself into their respective audio range, giving the EP something I can only describe as an 'Electronic Symphonic Experience'.
This album comes High Recommended from Synthetix.FM. Pick up a copy on his Bandcamp here.
Destryur - Endurance
By Jason Taylor
Endurance, the new EP by Destryur pays homage to classic 80’s movies like Iron Eagle and Top Gun, all the while tipping its hat towards some EDM and Techno moments.
This 4 track EP covers all the bases if you will to what we now consider to be classic synth wave, but with a slightly more anthemic vibe, prevalent in tracks like ‘Endurance' and ‘Sleeper'. ‘Vanish' morphs around dancing wavetables, and then my favourite ‘Deathwave' is quite brooding and has an interesting tonality.
Endurance is what I would call technically proficient, clean, full, solid production, everything is where it should be, and to be honest that’s what disappointed me a bit. I was left feeling like I wanted more, no boundaries are being pushed here but at the same time I don’t believe it was meant to be, this is meant to be classic synth wave in it's finest form. This is definitely a soundtrack to throw on while catching up with mates and sinking a few brewskies, but also quite enjoyable while playing classic fighter jet games, even Capcom’s 1942. Highly recommended from Synthetix.FM.
Pick up a copy of Destryur's 'Endurance' here.
Mitch Murder - Selection 3
By Jerry Herrera
There are a lot of us that owe Mitch Murder a debt of gratitude. Without him or guys like him, say, Kavinsky, the genres of synthwave and retrowave may never have taken off the way they have. We’re pretty damn legitimate now, and I think we’re on the verge of serious recognition and our storied and glorious history can be traced back to a very small handful of guys and girls, one of them being Mitch Murder. This does not mean that I will be less critical of his current efforts. If anything, I took a hard look at Selection 3 because now there are dozens of producers out there that are innovating and creating stuff far beyond what we could have imagined and Mitch has to keep up now.
Introduction is what it says it is, a little riff that one might find when they pop in a VHS tape before their movie starts. Melting Point is a soft, easygoing cruise that features really beautiful melodies and warm, fuzzy basses. It’s very summery, like audible sunlight. Knight Rider Theme is, well, the Knight Rider theme. A pretty faithful recreation plus some choice vocal clips from the Hoff himself. The Lost Patrol Theme got me really excited. It’s an Amiga game from 1990 that is one of the first games where the ultimate goal is just to survive. Mitch pays homage to a lesser known retro classic in grand fashion.
Savage has a bit of a spookier edge to it. It’s horror outrun, with the same tempo and melodies you love about outrun but with the sinister thematic elements that draw you into horror synth. Ocean Avenue dials back the ominous atmosphere but still keeps the tempo up with a breezy bit of synth funkiness. La Morte Della Speranza is probably my favorite track on Selection 3. It oozes atmosphere and belongs on an Italo Horror soundtrack. It’s moody, rainy, grim without being too dark, and the production on the track makes it feel like you found it in a dusty old trunk in an attic.
Guile’s Theme is what it’s advertised to be, updated for today. It still goes with everything. Mitch’s remix of Kiezsa’s Hideaway is a good example of his overall talent, not just what we hear on Selection 3. The original was itself, to me, a throwback to a 90’s vocal dance track and for that I liked it. As a current EDM offering, though, it felt weak and sort of insulting in its popularity when there are some real innovators putting out great music. In this remix, the retro flair is pitch perfect and in many ways takes the producers of the original to school on how to make a catchy dance track.
I have to say that there isn’t a lot on Selection 3 that pushes the boundaries of the genre. However, what Mitch does, he does extremely well. He’s a guy who knows what to do and how to do it and his tracks will always have that feeling of effortlessness to them, and effortlessness is only achieved after you’ve put in a lot of hard work. In the end, when people ask us what our genre is all about, we’ll always point to Mitch Murder as our prime example.
Mitch Murder’s Selection 3 is available on his Bandcamp page here and is very, very highly recommended by Synthetix.FM
