Tag: John Carpenter

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Up-and-Coming Finnish Electronic Music Producer and Artist NightStop Releases Creepy Visuals for Brooding Album Single “Under the Killing Moon”

Last month, I wrote about the  Jyväskylä, Finland-born and-based, up-and-coming Finnish electronic music producer and artist Ere Ek, who started the 80s cyberpunk soundtrack-inspired project NightStop back in 2012. Since then, Ek has seen a growing profile across Europe and Russia’s tight-knit DIY scene, steadily touring and releasing both cassette and vinyl releases. Now, the Chicago, IL-based label No Trend Records, the label home of Ganser, Absolutely Not and others will be releasing a vinyl edition of NightStop’s most recent effort, Dancing Killer on March 30, 2018 — and as you may recall, although the album has already seen a digital release, Ek included a pulsating John Carpenter meets Umberto-like single “Phantasmagoria,” as a bonus digital track for the album. Interestingly, while that track cemented his reputation for crafting brooding and cinematic retro-futuristic electro pop; however, it may arguably be one of the most dance floor friendly tracks he’s released to date. 

Building upon the buzz surrounding the vinyl release of Dancing Killer, the up-and-coming Finnish electronic music producer and artist recently released the incredibly creepy, stop animation based video for “Under the Killer Moon,” by Tommi Niukkanen. As far as the single, it’s a retro-futuristic and broodingly cinematic track featuring layers of shimmering, arpeggiated synths and thumping beats — and while clearly being indebted to the aforementioned John Carpenter and Umberto, it may also be the most menacing track of the entire album. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

NightStop is the attention grabbing brainchild of its Jyväskylä, Finland-born and-based mastermind, the up-and-coming Finnish electronic music producer and artist Ere Ek, who started the 80s cyberpunk soundtrack-inspired project in 2012. And since then, Ek has seen a growing profile across Europe and Russia’s tight-knit DIY scene, steadily touring and releasing both cassette and vinyl releases. Interesting Chicago, IL-based label No Trend Records, the label home of Ganser, Absolutely Not and others, recently announced that they will be releasing a vinyl edition of NightStop’s most recent effort, Dancing Killer on March 30, 2018.

Although the album has already seen a digital release, Ek has included a pulsating John Carpenter meets Umberto-like single “Phantasmagoria,” as a bonus digital track for the album — and interestingly, while cementing his reputation for crafting brooding yet cinematic, retro-furturistic electro pop, the track may also be among the most decidedly dance floor ready track he’s released to date. (As a side note, the track derives its name from Roberta Williams’ 1995 horror adventure game Phantasmagoria.)

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Jason Corbett (vocals, guitar), Shannon Hemmett (synth, vocals), Jahmell Russell (bass, vocals) and Adam Fink (drums), the Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based post punk act ACTORS have developed a reputation for a decidedly modern take on the familiar post-punk sound, in a way that some critics have compared to The Soft Moon, Cold Cave and others.

Building upon a growing amount of buzz surrounding the band, their forthcoming full-length debut It Will Come To You, is slated for a March 9, 2018 through Artoffact Records, and from album singles “L’appel du Vide,” and “Slaves,” the band reveals an album featuring slickly, produced, hook-driven material that’s reminiscent from  4AD Records-era post-punk and New Wave with an urgent yet cinematic bent. The album’s third and latest “Face Comes To Glass” will further cement the band’s growing reputation for hook-driven, cinematic and moody post punk; however, the track finds the band employing atmospheric and shimmering synths along with angular bass and guitar chords, which makes the song subtly nod at John Carpenter soundtracks.

The Canadian post-punk act will be touring throughout their native Canada, the States and Europe throughout 2018. Check out tour dates below.

Feb 1 – Vancouver, BC @ Astoria
Mar 10 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw (It Will Come to You album release show)
Mar 22 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Mar 23 – Boise, ID @ Vista Bar
Mar 28 – Sacramento, CA @ LowBrau
Mar 29 – Oakland, CA @ Golden Bull
Mar 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ La Cita (Part Time Punks)
Apr 2 – Eugene, OR @ Old Nicks
Apr 3 – Olympia, WA @ Crytatropa
Apr 4 – Everett, WA @ Obscurus
Apr 6 – Portland, OR @ Tonic Lounge (Out from the Shadows Festival)
Apr 12 – Vancouver, BC @ Astoria (Verboden Festival)
May 10 – Paris, FR @ Le Supersonic
May 11 – Lille, FR @ Le Bobble Cafe
May 17 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Strand
May 18 – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade
May 19 – Hamburg, DE @ Gruner Jager
May 20 – Leipzig, DE @ Wave Gotik Treffen Festival

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The 80s Inspired Sounds and Visuals of Up-and-Coming Boston-based Duo Modesta

Comprised of Arjun Viswanathan and Kostas Papadopoulous, the up and-coming, Boston-based duo Modesta specialize in a retro-futuristic synth pop sound that will remind most listeners of John Carpenter soundtracks and 80s synth funk, as well as contemporaries like Umberto and others — although interestingly enough, the duo cites Roosevelt, The Shins and Unknown Mortal Orchestra as major influences while saying that their own own sound and aesthetic is rooted in diversity and experimentation.

Since their formation, the duo have accrued almost half a million streams on Spotify with over 15,000 monthly listeners, and along with that the duo have built a home recording studio from the ground up, while learning new ways to improve their craft and experiment with their sound and songwriting process. Their debut EP VHS is slated for a January 12, 2018 release and reportedly the EP will find the duo meshing contemporary, electronic production, analog synthesizers, and organic instrumentation while further cementing their reputation for crafting material that’s indebted to 80s synth pop; in fact, as you’ll hear on EP title track and first single “VHS,” Viswanathan and Papadopoulous as the duo pair shimmering layers of arpeggiated, analog synths, thumping beats, a sinuous bass line, ethereal vocals and a slick hook. But underneath the moody iciness of the song is a swooning devotion of love. 

The recently released music video further emphasizes the retro-futuristc theme and vibe of the song as it features VHS player noises, grainy footage shot on VHS tape and incredibly 80s-like graphics and special effects. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Danish Electro Pop Duo Tan Returns with Dream-like Visuals for Their Chilly

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past few months, you may come across a post featuring the Copenhagen, Denmark-based electro pop duo TAN. And as you may recall the duo comprised of Mathias Riss and Andreas Bengsten have had stints in several local post-punk and psych rock bands, which makes their collaborative project together a marked change in direction for them; in fact, their previous single “PANORAMA” found the duo leaning towards the chilly, retro-futuristic synth-based compositions of  John Carpenter, Umberto and countless others while subtly nodding at  early house music.

The Danish electro pop duo’s latest single “BARBARA” will further cement the duo’s reputation for crafting chilly, retro-futrustic synth compositions — in this case, the cinematic and radio friendly track is a bit more straightforward as it features shimmering, arpeggiated synths, propulsive drum programming and a soaring hook. And interestingly enough, the recently released video further emphasizes the single’s chilly and creepy vie, as it stars Danish drag queen PROXY, who the duo met when they saw her dancing during one of their sets. As the story goes, the duo realized that PROXY’S appearance is much more than just putting on a costume, and they wanted to capture that on film.

“In the video, PROXY gets a crush on a synth playing mannequin. Brought together by a mutual love of synthesizers, their attraction slowly grows to the point where it dissolves boundaries and norms into insatiable lust and attraction for each other. Love works in mysterious ways, and rather than trying to understand it, they just surrender and go with it.” As a result, the video possesses a swooning, dream-like logic.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Funky Retro-futuristic Visuals and Sounds of Austin’s Neosho

Comprised of Missouri-born Jackson Bennett (vocals, production) and Oklahoma-born Justin Bernard Williams (production, samplers, synths, saxophone), the Austin, TX-based electronic music production and artist duo Neosho can trace their origins to when the duo met on an online forum for introspective, extroverted Ableton artists called solipsism. Once Bennett  and Williams realized that they were different types of weird, they tentatively agreed to start a band — and initially, they started out as a duo and later expanded into a quartet on two different occasions before finally settling as a duo. Interestingly, the duo derive their name from the river and town Neosho, which is on the border of Oklahoma and Missouri. 

Sonically speaking the duo have received attention across Austin for a strutting and swaggering sound based around driving grooves, boom bap-like drum programming, stuttering samples, shimmering synths and soulful blasts of horns as you’ll hear on “Time Traveler,” a single off the duo’s recently released debut effort Borderline — and while reminding listeners of Detroit’s Griz and others, the song reveals a duo whose sound draws from hip hop, house music and John Carpenter soundtracks.

Directed by the duo’s Justin Bernard Williams, the recently released video consists of computer generated animation cut with footage of a jeans and cowboy boot wearing man walking forward and backwards, as though they entered a wormhole. It’s trippy yet swaggering visuals that emphasize the song’s swaggering nature. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Wander Around NYC with Copenhagen-based Retro-futuristic Electro Pop Duo TAN

Comprised of Mathias Riss and Andreas Bengsten, the members of Copenhagen, Denmark-based act TAN have spent sings in a number of post punk and psych rock projects which makes their current collaboration a marked sonic departure for them with their sound, as you’ll hear on latest single “PANORAMA,” leaning towards the chilly retro-futusitic synth-based compositions of John Carpenter, Umberto and countless others; however, the Copenhagen-based electro pop act’s sound manages to subtly nod towards early house music. 

Interestingly, enough the song and video were created at all night rooftop party in Brooklyn. Inspired by the skyline and the infinite sense of possibility of NYC, they ditched the party armed with an old 80s VHS video recorder, with which the duo dressed entirely in black bodysuits explore the city, hitting up bars, riding the subway and wandering through Times Square  and chatting with locals — and typical for New York, no one bats an eye towards these oddly attired strangers. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Videos: Sudden Beach Returns with a Creepy Minimalist Yet Cinematic New Single Paired with Equally Creepy Visuals

Last year, I wrote about the rather mysterious Istanbul, Turkey-based and currently Berlin, Germany-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and electronic music artist Sudden Beach.  And as the Turkish-born, German-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and electronic music artist told me in an email last year, the music he has created was meant to evoke suddenly coming upon a beach while traveling a long distance on a desert road; however, his debut single “The Beast” reminded me quite a bit of John Carpenter‘s retro-futuristic soundtracks and Pink Floyd‘s “On The Run” as the single consisted of layers of undulating synths, cascading shimmering synths and samples of children yelling and talking.
Now, as you may gather, a little over a year has passed since I last had written about Sudden Beach — as it turned out, the multi-instrumentalist, producer and electronic music artist recently relocated to Berlin and after the complex visa process was finally able to focus on music with his latest single “The Reason,” a single, which will further cement his reputation for crafting an icy, retro-futrustic, synth-based, cinematic sound thanks to a production that features layers of twinkling arpeggio synths that twist and turn around each other. 

The accompanying video, created by the artist is based on edited footage from the 1999 major motion picture Outer Space and the visuals are specifically mean to be psychedelic and downright creepy, further emphasizing the song’s creepy vibes. 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Chris Lamaro is an up-and-coming Australian multi-instrumentalist, producer and electronic music artist, best known as Diskodisco. And as Diskodisco, Lamaro specializes in a cinematic yet dance floor friendly retro-futuristic sound that seemed indebted to John Carpenter soundtracks, Giorgio Moroder‘s 80s output, Umberto and The Chemical Brothers‘ “It Began In Afrika,” as Lamaro pairs layers of propulsive, arpeggio synths, with layers of shimmering synths and a computerized vocal sample which spells out DISKO, as you’ll hear on “The Darkest Magic,” the first single off his forthcoming debut EP, The Game Within The Game.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Pattern Language Returns with Retro-futuristic Visuals for Kraftwerk and John Carpenter-Inspired New Single “Le Choc des Etoiles”

Last month, I wrote about the Boulder, CO-based multi-instrumenalist Chris Frain. And although he’s arguably best known as a keyboardist in indie pop act The Giranimals and the bassist in power prog rcock trio Tanuki, Frain can […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Mischievous Yet Dark Goth-Inspired Visuals for Ghost Twin’s “Plastic Heart”

Since the release of their debut EP, Here We Are In The Night, the Winnipeg, MB-based electro pop duo Ghost Twin, comprised of husband and wife duo Karen and Jaimz Asmundson, have received attention for meshing dark, industrial-inspired dance grooves in an immersive audio/visual show that includes edited video being used as percussion; in fact, the duo have played shows across their native Canada, including sets at NXNE, Pop Montreal, BreakOut West and Terminus. Eventually, the EP caught the attention of Austra’s Maya Postepski, a drummer and an electronic music producer known as Princess Century, who approached the band and was recruited to produce and collaborate on the material that would eventually comprise Plastic Heart, the Canadian duo’s full-length debut.

“Plastic Heart,” the album title track and latest single off Ghost Twin’s debut consists of tweeter and woofer-rattling boom bap beats, propulsive, shimmering arpeggio synths, a murky, retro-futuristic, industrial electro pop vibe and a soaring hook paired with ethereal vocals — and while clearly nodding at John Carpenter soundtracks, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Depeche Mode, Moonbabies, Niki and the Dove and others, the song manages to be a slickly produced, club banger with a dark, seductive feel. And interestingly enough, the recently released video, which was directed and produced by the band’s Jaimz Asmundson drops the viewer into a gym club for goths in which a dance instructor teaches some of the attendees a menacing new dance move, a move that mimics kidnapping, murdering and then burying the body of an enemy while conjuring dark spirits — and while menacing there’s a mischievous sense of dark humor and wish-fulfillment within the video.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Since the release of their debut EP, Here We Are In The Night, the Winnipeg, MB-based electro pop duo Ghost Twin, comprised of husband and wife duo Karen and Jaimz Asmundson, have received attention for meshing dark, industrial-inspired dance grooves in an immersive audio/visual show that includes edited video being used as percussion; in fact, the duo have played shows across their native Canada, including sets at NXNE, Pop Montreal, BreakOut West and Terminus. Eventually, the EP caught the attention of Austra’s Maya Postepski, a drummer and an electronic music producer known as Princess Century, who approached the band and was recruited to produce and collaborate on the material that would eventually comprise Plastic Heart, the Canadian duo’s full-length debut.

“Plastic Heart,” the album title track and latest single off Ghost Twin’s debut consists of tweeter and woofer-rattling boom bap beats, propulsive, shimmering arpeggio synths, a murky, retro-futuristic, industrial electro pop vibe and a soaring hook paired with ethereal vocals — and while clearly nodding at John Carpenter soundtracks, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Depeche Mode, Moonbabies, Niki and the Dove and others, the song manages to be a slickly produced, club banger with a dark, seductive feel.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past 12-18 months or so, you’d be fairly familiar with Stockholm, Sweden-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, Labrador Records label head and electronic music artist Johan Angergård, who’s best known for his work as a member of Club 8. 2017 has been a rather busy year for the renowned producer, electronic music artist and label head, as his solo project The Legends recently released a new album earlier this month and his project with American pop artist and vocalist Rose Suau, Djustin will be releasing their long-anticipated full-length debut Voyagers on May 5, 2017.  And with Voyager‘s first single “Illumination,” Angergård further cements his rapidly growing profile for slickly produced, retro-futuristic, 80s-inspired synth pop — along the lines of Giorgio Moroder, John Carpenter and others — with a nod towards propulsive, dance floor friendly house music. In fact, Suau’s vocals add a plaintive and urgent need to the song.

 

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Anthony Scott Burns is a Toronto, ON-based film director, visual effects artist and electronic music producer, who has released a number of instrumental albums — mostly as stand alone vinyl releases — with his solo recording project PILOTPRIEST. His soon-to-be released Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is slated for an April 28, 2017 release through Waxwork Records — and while the label releasing the 22 track, triple LP effort is best known for releasing the soundtracks of Taxi Driver, The Thing, The Warriors, Rosemary’s Baby, Nosferatu, C.H.U.D., Goosebumps and others, Burns’ latest effort marks some interesting, new territory for the label, as it’s the first release of originally composed material that’s largely inspired by the soundtracks of 80s cult-classic films like Body Double, Manhunter and Legend.  And unsurprisingly, the album’s first single “Switchblade,” manages to be mischievously anachronistic — while clearly using analog synths to create a chilly, retro-futrustic and almost dystopian sound reminiscent of the great John Carpenter, backed by boom-bap beats, the song manages to reveal slick, modern production techniques that make it both cinematic and dance floor friendly.

 

 

New Audio by William Ruben Helms

Over the course of the past couple of years, you’ve likely come across a handful of posts on the Brooklyn-based JOVM mainstay post-punk act The Harrow. Deriving their name from a name of a device used to punish and torture prisoners in the Franz Kafka short story “In the Penal Colony,” the band can trace a portion of their origins back to 2008 when its founding member Frank Deserto (bass, synths and electronics) started it as a solo recording project that expanded into a full band in 2013 when Deserto recruited Vanessa Irena (vocals, synths and programming), Barrett Hiatt (synth, programming), and Greg Fasolino (guitar) to flesh out the project’s sound. As a quartet, the Brooklyn-based act released the “Mouth to Mouth”/”Ringing the Changes” 7 inch and their full-length effort Silhouettes to critical praise across the blogosphere including The Deli Magazine, The Big Takeover, Impose, AltSounds as well as this site for a sound that is deeply indebted to The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and others —  although with Silhouette, the material, which was mixed by friend and frequent collaborator, Automelodi’s Xavier Paradis revealed a band that had been subtly experimenting with and expanding upon their sound, as their sound took on a bit of an industrial feel, as though nodding at Depeche Mode and New Order.

Up until relatively recently, some time had passed since I had written about them; however, in the last few weeks, the band announced that they will be releasing a remix album Points of View, which would be comprised of remixes, re-workings and re-imaginings of the material off Silhouettes by various friends, collaborators and associates as part of a “living” album that will grow as they receive additional contributions to the album.  And fittingly, the album’s first single was Xavier Paradis’ propulsive, dance floor-friendly remix of “Kaleidoscope” in which industrial clang and clatter and tweeter and woofer rocking beats are paired with the original’s shimmering guitars and Irena’s ethereal vocals — and as a result, the remix retained the spirit and mood of the original, while being a subtle new take.

Interestingly enough, if you had been following the site since the early days, you may recall that I wrote about the Brooklyn-based synth pop duo Azar Swan. Comprised of singer/songwriter Zohra Atash, who was a touring vocalist with A Storm of Light and multi-instrumentalist and producer Joshua Strawn, who was a member of Blacklist, Vaura, Vain Warr and others, the duo’s current project can trace its origins to when Atash and Strawn ended their previous project Religious to Damn in 2012. And much like it, The Harrow it had been some time since I had written about them — that is until now, as the duo remixed The Harrow’s “Secret Language,” giving an already stark minimalist song an even moodier, retro-futuristic John Carpenter soundtrack vibe.