Browsing Tag

electronica

Get into the groove with Ryan Alexander’s funk-chopped disco pop earworm, Stay the Night

Posted on 31 July 2024

Ryan Alexander’s latest single, Stay the Night, featuring pop vocalist Michael, is more disco than a disco ball with its funk chops which cut through the kinetic grooves to ignite dancefloors and send sparks of serotonin flooding through the psyche of anyone who encounters this synthesis of sonic nostalgia and salaciously amplified contemporary innovation.

The hit mainlines the guitar rhythms of Nile Rodgers with the beats of Daft Punk, while the infectiously euphoric pop vocals from Michael turn up the heat in this magnetic earworm, resulting in a track that showcases the immense potential of this independent producer’s talents.

Although Alexander is currently reverberating through the underground, it is only a matter of time before he breaks major ground and storms the mainstream with his flair for expansively fusionistic songwriting and producing.

Hailing from Glasgow, Ryan Alexander’s passion for music is evident in every beat of his rapidly growing discography, which is picking up major traction through his local performances in October Café and other revered venues around his hometown. There’s no doubt that a big break is around the corner.

Stay the Night was officially released on July 22; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bad Avocado is ripe for the picking for your summer playlists in their house anthem, Aguacate NewsHour Special (All of the Memories)

Posted on 31 July 2024

Feel the pulse of summer’s heartbeat with the latest single, Aguacate NewsHour Special (All of the Memories), by the enigmatically irreplicable artist and producer, Bad Avocado. From the first note, you’re at the mercy of the independent house artist’s grooves and consumed by the confrontation of pure elation, which proves that Bad Avocado is set to defy their nature and remain eternally fresh.

Aguacate NewsHour Special (All of the Memories) is ripe for the picking for your summer playlists. The seraphic soundscape envelops through the rushes of lush reverb that wrap around the echoes of nostalgia, allowing the instrumentals to capture the sense of yearning for ephemeral memories which bleeds from the harmonised ethereal vocal lines.

The tactile sense of sun-kissed bliss reverberates to the forefront of the flawless anthem which attests to Bad Avocado’s songwriting and production chops. As the track crescendos, each moment of escalation is finely tuned, leading to hedonic breaks that burst with intensity. It’s in these moments that the track holds its breath, before plunging into a sonic rapture that’s textured with complexity and clarity.

Aguacate NewsHour Special (All of the Memories) dropped on June 24; stream the track on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spyndycyt took synth-pop to visceral new heights with his introspection-fuelled hit, Change Me from the Inside

Posted on 29 July 2024

The electronica avant-gardist, Spyndycyt, has struck again with the release of his sophomore synth-pop single, Change Me from the Inside. If Frank Zappa had lived long enough to experiment with 8-bit-adjacent production, he would have undoubtedly orchestrated something as ludicrously electrifying as this infectiously unhinged anthem, which almost registers as a lament from a painfully self-aware transhuman organism 100 years in the future.

Change Me from the Inside reverberates with all-too-relatable electro-pop insanity, echoing New Order in its kinetic rhythms which pulsate through the chaos stirred by synthesising a raw emotional undercurrent into tides of merciless electronica which shimmer into distortion with every crescendo.

Each beat and melody reflect a different facet of self-discovery and confrontation from an artist who fearlessly never filters his expression to become an advocate of introspective candour and to perfectly encapsulate his message that lifting the veil on your own psyche is never a comfortable process.

The spontaneously materialised lyrics efficaciously testify to how wrestling with your own autonomy will leave you battle scared; the teeth of self-remonstration and loathing will always sink in, yet, chances are you’ll also meet your own indomitable spirit and come out stronger after the encounter.

Change Me From the Inside was officially released on July 21; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

litesleeper unveiled a pulsating prism of euphonic euphoria in their organic electronica release, Hertz

Posted on 26 July 2024

Hertz by litesleeper surpassed sound to become a sophisticated statement that carries the evolution of electronica on its pulsating back. The Northampton-based collective’s objective to arrest rhythmic pulses while simultaneously stirring the soul was efficaciously achieved through their amalgamation of organic instrumentation and powerful basslines.

Vocalist Shannon Kait honed the release with a razor-sharp indietronica edge; her soulfully ethereal and emotionally charged harmonies floating above intricately layered production ensured that Hertz had all the potential to become the definitive sound of the summer.

With a production that’s as lush as it is meticulously arranged, the transcendent quality of the seminal single strikes a perfect balance between bass-fuelled momentum and hypnotic serenity. The seraphically utopic hues are enough to liberate you from the mundanity of material reality.

Keen to orchestrate tracks that resonate with seasoned clubbers and casual electronica fans alike, the only thing that is more monumental than the cross-over appeal of the single is the synaesthesia which will ensnare you from the first tonally rich progression.

Hertz will be available to stream and download on all major platforms from July 26th; stream the single on SoundCloud first.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bitvert – Deletist: A Techno-Punk Invocation of Resistance

Posted on 9 July 2024

Bitvert’s latest release, Deletist, is an off-kilter slice of pulse-pounding experimental electronica, crafted in the heart of East London’s artist quarter—where creativity thrives despite economic and political adversity.

The encapsulation of the struggle against a dysfunctional government and parasitic leaders embodies the spirit of liberation and defiance; the punk ethos charges the sequence of nocturnal electro, born through an amalgamation of spectral electronica, 4/4 techno beats and kinetic sub-bass frequencies.

The single’s release coincided with the new government’s election, yet it remains timely all the same, given the sense of nihilism and despair that remains pervasive in the UK’s collective psyche. Deletist serves as a bass-drenched techno resistance, a sonic uprising against the subjugation that has eroded hope and fuelled a belief in our epoch’s irreversible regression.

With punk’s spirit relegated to the shadows of the music industry, Bitvert ensures its essence endures through his frenetic rhythms that testify to the times, call for unity and vindicate through volition.

Deletist was released on the 4th of July via We Are Not Content; stream the single on SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Batka – Ałive: An Electronic Odyssey Between Serenity and Storm

Posted on 7 July 2024

BaŁka went down a cinematic storm in their latest release, Ałive, featuring PRESPHNE. The seductively progressive hit opens on a note of ethereal transcendence with the intricate instrumental layers efficaciously complementing the quiescent harmonic whispers, but it isn’t long before the intensity builds within the momentum of the tour de force of seamlessly chameleonic shifts in tone and tempo.

The head-spinning hits of Drum ‘n’ bass contort Ałive into a pulsative juggernaut of an anthem; the industrial rock aesthetics which follow act as further attestations to BaŁka’s ability to move sonic mountains with virtuosic melodic manipulations.

From the exponentially expansive crescendos to the transient installations of nature-infused cathartic tranquillity which follows like serenity after a storm purges the atmosphere, Ałive is definitive proof that few artists are as capable as BaŁka in depicting the duality between the brutality and ferocity of the human experience.

The inspiration for his powerful sound design is so much more than just an abstract concept. The thematic essence of his work hits you as hard as the beats, which goes a fair way in explaining how in six months within the industry, he’s already had an official release on MONTA Records, been signed by the LA-based music group, Cage Riot, and garnered over 30k streams.

Stream Ałive on all major platforms, including Spotify, now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

António Sá – Partition_Monolog: An Ambient Immersion into Digital Reflection

Posted on 4 July 2024

António Sá’s debut LP, CACHE 01, presents Partition_Monolog, a track that immerses listeners in subtle cerebral reflections, a tonality of transcendence and syncopated spectres of futurism.

The soundscape within the concept LP, which explores how memories are increasingly digitised, subdues the listener into a profound state of catharsis while pondering what it means to be human when our autonomy is increasingly enmeshed with the artificial artifices of technology.

António Sá, an artist, producer, and sound engineer, efficaciously utilised spatial effect within his diaphanously lush downtempo progressions which are shrouded in an aura of deep reticent thought. Partition_Monolog invites you to lose yourself in its sonic world, invite ambience into your psyche, and join the visionary as he follows his muse through unchartered territory.

The CACHE 01 album, released under Diffuse Reality Records, brings a fresh perspective to the electronic music scene. It speaks volumes of the Portuguese-based originator’s talents and ability to awaken the imagination within his evocatively euphonic scores.

Partition_Monolog is now available to stream on Spotify with the rest of António Sá’s debut LP.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sharon West – Fake: A Euro Disco House Anthem of Pulsating Vindication

Posted on 17 June 2024

Sharon West’s latest single, Fake, created in collaboration with Nick Jay and Jean Luc is an electrifying euro disco house installation of euphoria underpinned by a scathingly sharp persecution of pretenders. The track’s synthesis of retro disco grooves, solid beats, and Sharon’s powerhouse vocals creates a hedonically rhythmic hit that delivers catharsis with infectiously kinetic rhythms that any dancefloor would want to devour.

Sharon West’s journey from live band performances to becoming a sought-after House, Dance, and EDM vocalist and songwriter is reflected in this potent release. Her evolution in the music scene has been marked by her debut album, Revelation, and a series of celebrated collaborations.

Now that Fake has permeated the airwaves, there will be no stopping West in her mission to revolutionise the airwaves. It’s so much more than a nostalgic nod to the forebearers of house; it’s a deeply visceral experience where familiar rhythmic warmth meets the searing burn of truth.

Stream the Radio Edit of Fake on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

$chaff the Prophet – TELEPHONE: The Cosmic Psych-Trap Track You Won’t Be Able to Put Down

Posted on 13 June 2024

$chaff the Prophet burst through the bubblegum pop trend and established his own cosmic bubblegum psych trap niche with his second LP for 2024, PSYCHEDELIC BUBBLEGUM.

The standout single, TELEPHONE, is an electrifying synth-driven kaleidoscopic synthesis of 8Bit, trap, hyperpop, and Owl City-esque electronica. If the viscerally hued sonics of the track don’t ensnare you, $chaff the Prophet’s sticky-sweet approach to painting a neon-lit vignette of a lonely protagonist searching for connection while keeping social life in the palm of her hand hits hard enough to bruise.

The exposition of how easy it is to get “lost in information, pixels and tones” couldn’t hit closer to home now given the hyperconnected nature of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. The artist’s signature arpeggios lend themselves effortlessly well to the playful yet empathy-evoking production, which shows just how far $chaff the Prophet has come since the launch of his debut in 2019. Now 11 LPs deep, his authentic sound has become so cultivated that he deserves to be revered as a pioneer in his own right.

TELEPHONE is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Primary Phase Principle has unveiled their cerebral post-industrial fable, The Subdued Mechanist

Posted on 12 June 2024

Taken from the debut EP, Echoes of the Mechatronic Age, the standout post-industrial electronica score, The Subdued Mechanist, from the Winnipeg-hailing solo artist, The Primary Phase Principle, paradoxically pacifies the senses while heightening emotions to such a visceral extent, it is almost primal.

The concept EP implants listeners in a fictional civilisation which depends on a universal mechanism they can no longer fully understand to deliver the ultimate parable of the AI-dominated future we are sleepwalking into.

The atmospherically filmic ambience of The Subdued Mechanist cerebrally alludes to Orson Welles’ belief that there is no confidence equal to sheer ignorance; it’s a liberating, quasi-Stoic score that holds a mirror to humanity and its willingness to evolve beyond its own comprehension.

By pouring influence of NIN, How to Destroy Angels and Tangerine Dream through a science fiction lens, The Primary Phase Principle unlocked the narrative power of post-industrial. He has a superlative gift in his ability to chronicle immersive fables simply through juxtapositions of harsh mechanical synthetics and crystalline flashes of enlightenment. His EP is so much more than just another addition to the airwaves, it’s a beacon of higher consciousness.

Stream The Subdued Mechanist on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast