Browsing Tag

Alt Electronica

Close to Monday – Kripko Spi: Transcendently Experimental Progressive Electronica

Posted on 27 December 2021

The indie breakthrough artist, Close to Monday, was one of the few artists that managed to garner international attention and affection in 2021. Based on their recently released EDM hit, Kripko Spi, Close to Monday’s success was one of the only things that made sense during our most recent perplexing trip around the sun.

With entrancing beats that would give Front 242, Covenant, and Skinny Puppy a run for their money towards the outro, it scarcely comes as a surprise that so many immersed themselves in Close to Monday’s sound that breaks the monocultural mould while creating a demurely alluring sensory experience.

With the 7-minute duration of Kripko Spi, the progressive single has plenty of time to transition from the ambience in the prelude to the dancey harsh beats. The vocals are minimalist, but every time they come to the surface, they’re nothing short of intoxicating.

Kripko Spi is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Acrid Key has ‘Nothing to Lose’ in their Lynchian synth-pop meets electronic rock single.

Posted on 23 December 2021

“Nothing to Lose” is the latest Lynchian feat of soothing alt synth-pop from the up and coming experimental luminary Acrid Key. Once the Twin Peaks vibes in the intro are out of the way, the wavy distorted guitar tones continue to hammer and shine through in the downtempo instrumental mix in an indulgently hypnotic fashion.

The US-based artist and producer released Nothing to Lose as an entrancing showcase of his alt-indie inclination. Instead of following fads and making attempts at assimilation, Acrid Key follows his own vibe and lays them out in trippy synth-laced grooves. With that in mind, the hazy discordantly-tinted soundscape becomes all the more efficacious in aiding aural escapism.

Nothing to Lose is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

A Broken System orchestrated a vintage synth sanctum in his debut album, An Escape.

Posted on 3 December 2021

Amidst the swathes of ambient tones to hit the airwaves this year was the elevated nature-entwining work of the eclectically-inspired music producer, A Broken System. His music is a submersion into a sublime mix of synth-rock, hip hop, electronica and ambient, but his dreamy work is no ordinary sonic palette mashup. The Minnesota-hailing, Atlanta-based artist is fresh from the release of his debut album, An Escape, which was officially released on December 3rd, 2021.

The eight minimalist tracks take nuances of aural dystopia and transfuse them into downtempo, deep house tracks and smooth acid house soundscapes so sultry that they practically become an aphrodisiac. The standout concluding single, Liquid, is almost neo-classic in form. It traverses through haunting reverb and follows synth melodies that become the anchor in the otherwise gravity-defyingly transcendent release.

In short, an Escape is a synthesised sanctuary for anyone who feels at home in vintage electronic tones. The eight tracks pull together as an immersive, explorative sensory experience that you can’t help getting absorbed by. There’s an underlying darkness to An Escape, but the mix of light and dark tones created a multifaceted efficacious reflection of the world as we know it today.

In his own words, here is how A Broken System introduced his debut album:

“An Escape is an amalgamation of influence from many different films, film scores, and video games. It is escapism in the internet age; urban spaces, nature and the environments I have moved between.”

An Escape is now available to stream on Spotify.

The up and coming producer, A Broken System, created a vintage synth sanctum in his debut album, An Escape.

Posted on 3 December 2021
A Broken System

Amidst the swathes of ambient tones to hit the airwaves this year was the elevated nature-entwining work of the eclectically-inspired music producer, A Broken System. His music is a submersion into a sublime mix of synth-rock, hip hop, electronica and ambient, but his dreamy work is no ordinary sonic palette mashup. The Minnesota-hailing, Atlanta-based artist is fresh from the release of his debut album, An Escape, which was officially released on December 3rd, 2021.

The eight minimalist tracks take nuances of aural dystopia and transfuse them into downtempo, deep house tracks and smooth acid house soundscapes so sultry that they practically become an aphrodisiac. The standout concluding single, Liquid, is almost neo-classic in form. It traverses through haunting reverb and follows synth melodies that become the anchor in the otherwise gravity-defyingly transcendent release.

In short, an Escape is a synthesised sanctuary for anyone who feels at home in vintage electronic tones. The eight tracks pull together as an immersive, explorative sensory experience that you can’t help getting absorbed by. There’s an underlying darkness to An Escape, but the mix of light and dark tones created a multifaceted efficacious reflection of the world as we know it today.

In his own words, here is how A Broken System introduced his debut album:

“An Escape is an amalgamation of influence from many different films, film scores, and video games. It is escapism in the internet age; urban spaces, nature and the environments I have moved between.”

An Escape is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Future bass fuses with classical in GASP’s ethereal electronic single, Qualified.

Posted on 1 December 2021

Electronica artist and producer GASP has released his ethereal debut album, CHILL FOREST MIX, which takes aural escapism to a whole new level. The Tampa-based artist fused his love of future bass, funk and classical into the ambiently explorative works that are quite literally a breath of fresh air for their embodiments of nature.

The standout single, Qualified, sets itself leagues apart from the predictable dystopic tracks that have flooded onto the airwaves recently. Qualified keeps its humanity and autonomy through the quiescent vocals which sporadically appear between the uniquely structured progressions. If you can imagine what Hozier would sound like if they became a ghost in the machine, you’ll get an idea of just how soulfully haunting the vocals are in Qualified. Instrumentally, it breaks a new aural boundary with every new evolution in sound.

Qualified is now available to stream with the rest of CHILL FOREST MIX via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Poetry and Electronic Post-Punk Collide in The Ninth Configuration’s Latest Single, Love is a Want of Reason

Posted on 20 November 2021

If artists climbed the charts on the poetic intrigue of their track titles alone, the UK-based outfit, The Ninth Configuration, would never leave the top of the billboard charts with their latest single, Love is a Want of Reason.

Even before you hit play on the track, you’re desperate to hear what introspective gold is nestled inside. Hint, you definitely won’t be disappointed. The dark electronic post-punk single has exactly what it takes to win over Alex Cameron and Jack Ladder fans with the crooned indie post-punk vocals that effortlessly fall into the synthesised pool of relatable melancholia.

The official music video for Love is a Want of Reason is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dogjoy takes ‘Control’ in their autonomy embodying feat of alt-electro.

Posted on 12 November 2021

Floridian alt electro-pop duo, Dogjoy, have released their most entrancing single to date with the bit-crushing seminal track, Control. The dance-worthy  hit combines the duo’s love of 808s against distorted synths and lush vocal melodies; it’s a bitter-sweet aural pill that fans of Chemical Brothers, Caribou and Crystal Castles will want on prescription.

With the hypnotically layered vocals emanating empowered autonomy, it’s an intoxicating inhibition-stripping track like no other – imagine Peaches’ sultrier sonic cousin.

Control was officially released on November 11th. It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Brikcs has released his dark genre-bending work of neo-classic melancholia ‘Coffers’

Posted on 9 November 2021

With its Cigarettes After Sex and Perfume Genius-level of artful magnetism, the cold ambience in Brikcs’ latest neo-classically-scored single, Coffers, is a rare reminder of just how sonorously beautiful music can be.

We scarcely felt that there was room for improvement the last time we heard Brikcs in December 2020 with his single, Water, but Coffers exceeded all expectations. With the lyricism falling into the sombre side of poetry and the grand piano melodies within the lush layers of reverb, Coffers is as elegant as it is haunting.

The extended instrumental interlude towards the outro is enough to affirm that Brikcs is one of the most criminally underrated artists of our generation. The beguiling mix of grandiosity and raw, gorgeously bleak emotion is nothing short of breathtaking.

The Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and electronica producer, Brikcs, cut his teeth in the music scene in rock and metal bands before turning his attention to genre-bending works of melancholia; a move that we will be endlessly grateful for.

Coffers is now available to stream on Bandcamp and  Spotify.

Follow Brikcs on Facebook 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Trip hop got trippier with the release of Bi&nka’s reverb-drenched seminal single, Loves a Wall

Posted on 14 October 2021

Any fans of Banks & Steelz will find the same amount of infatuation for the trippy ground-breaking tones in Bi&nka’s latest alt electronica single, Loves a Wall. The shoegazey reverb paired with the urban grit in the electronic mix opens up a mellow spacey soundscape for the spoken word rap vocals and the listener to fall into.

On the basis f Loves a Wall alone, it comes as little surprise that the independent Luton, UK-based artist and producer has received airplay from BBC Introducing and has amassed a loyal fan following with her indulgent, experimentally-layered mixes.

With her debut EP in the making, there has been no better time to place Bi&nka on your radar.

Loves a Wall is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tim Reynolds & Michael Sokolowski take us on a Soul Pilgrimage with their latest guitar-infused electronica album.

Posted on 10 October 2021

Long-time collaborators Tim Reynolds & Michael Sokolowski have teamed up once more for their guitar & synth duet album, Soul Pilgrimage. The standout symphonic piece, Freighter Hop, carries the dark and ominous textures of post-punk in the ambiently arranged synth lines while the warm bluesy guitar notes transform it into an invigoratingly optimistic soundscape.

If anyone has what it takes to prove that the future of music will be synthesised, it is Tim Reynolds & Michael Sokolowski. Their album was released on August 25th, 2021; it is available to stream on all major platforms; the vinyl release is due on October 31st, 2021.

Stream Freighter Hop for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast