Talking about my personal synthpop revival, this is another record I’ve listened to a lot in recent weeks. It steers towards futurepop but still maintains an easy tempo and calm sound, oriented to headphones rather than dancefloor.
VH x RR – 101
Tuff Turf – Another Level
Another Level is my new favorite track on repeat. It’s just too short; after one day I’m already annoying myself by playing it on loop.
After my last year being a deep dive in goth moods throwback I have the feeling that ’80s synthpop vibes might hit me this year. And this song is a perfect lead-up to that.
Tim Reaper – in vain
Perfect lounging breakbeat. Sometimes it’s liquid drum and bass, sometimes it’s dubstep, but for the most part it’s soulful broken beats with a soothing tone. Reading the liner notes gives a good perspective to this album: I can see how something so full of soul can come from grasping for the life line in a time of need.
Conforce – Dawn Chorus
Another great album that helps while working. Ambient techno.
Patrik Andrén & Johan Söderqvist – ARC Raiders OST
Nice and evocative sci-fi atmosphere. Too bad I didn’t quite get hooked by the gameplay loop and didn’t stick with the game, because otherwise the world and the visual fidelity was stunning.
Soulwax – All Systems Are Lying
Another record that went from zero to a hundred on my listening charts in something like a week. I had listened to it once or twice previously but it hadn’t stuck with me, and then last week it just did, a lot. At this point it has a guaranteed Top 3 spot in my year-end list.
The whole album is sprawling with musical references from so many things that I love. And it’s not just a few specific things but entire aspects of music that I’ve been getting hooked on and have been loving in practically my whole life. From the post-nu jazz of the ’00s with its artistic and electronic reinterpretations, through the big beat sounds of the likes of The Chemical Brothers or The Crystal Method, and electro-infused electronic music that I have often a hard time to put in a box other than “electronic music”, all the way to leftfield pop that is just meant to be blasting from the radio.
I rarely pinpoint single tracks because I usually like the coherent experience of a full album best. And this is an a-ma-zing album as a whole, no question about that. Still, Gimme A Reason is just a hymn, I am floored by this song. To me, this is the ultimate pop hit of this year. I don’t even remember when I put a single track on repeat for such a long time as this one. And after a hundred replays I still get goosebumps at the exact same timestamps. I can’t talk highly enough about this one, it’s an essential track.
Daniel Avery – Tremor
It’s like the ’90s: triphop and industrial, could be a new Portishead record.
Framewerk – Lotus Land
Progressive breaks, electro vibes, great flow, head nodding steadily.
Martin Stürtzer – Protostar
First off, this is a great ambient record. This has been my go-to focus music for the past week the mindset it creates for me is just awesome.
On the other hand, one feeling I can’t shake off is how much of a generated music this could potentially be. I really don’t know anything about Stürtzer, his past work, and process, I just feel like music like this could exactly be the type that can be generated by AI today. I feel bad to think this, it feels like such an asshole thought to have, but this is just what the ambient genre is plagued with today. And if I look at an artist’s discography and I see several records published yearly that kind of confirms the idea; either that this is generated music or music that’s produced on a conveyor belt.
And after having these ideas at the back of my mind I’m going back to listening to the record and think: I still like it, I find it pleasant to listen to, it helps me focus and work and create stuff. So what does that mean? What if this is generated music really? Am I happy with generated music? No, I shouldn’t be. I want to value a true artist’s human output and genuine creativity. But still… What if this just works? Ahh, I don’t know. I hate the AI generated problems of our lives when it comes to art.
Lone – Always Inside Your Head
Ambient breakbeat, chill-out, ethereal drum and bass, wondering jungle.