Videodrones appeared out of the ether and buzzing drones of modular synths back in 2016. The Danish electronic duo of Jakob Skøtt and Kristoffer Ovesen took their love of sleazy Video Nasties of the 70s and 80s and combined that with their equal adoration of the music of Popol Vuh, Ennio Morricone, Fabio Frizzi, Marcello Giombini and Riz Ortolani. The result was an eerie, woozy electronic classic called Mondo Ferox. The following year they released the equally dizzying but more varied Nattens Hævn. They took their original idea and expanded it to include more Vangelis vibes. The humid and claustrophobic synths opened up a bit to include the occasional sense of widescreen awe.
Two years later Videodrones have returned with the chromed-out brilliance of Atavistic Future. Skøtt and Ovesen have let some of those original vibes dissipate like mist on a sweaty, late night street corner. They’ve replaced them with an approach based in repetition and improvisation. Those Italian composers have been traded in for the likes of Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Suzanne Ciani and Philip Glass. It’s a natural progression to the Videodrones sound, and one I cannot wait for everyone to hear.
In lieu of Atavistic Future dropping in August, I’ve compiled a Videodrones starter pack in the form of a Spotify playlist. It’s a collection of their first two albums all done up in a digital mixtape of sorts. So throw this in your Sony Walkman(I’m sure there’s an app for that), find a shadowy street to walk down, and hit play.
Atavistic Future drops next month. Watch for the preorder here. And check out my interview with Videodrones here.
Complex Distractions 
Looks like a pretty sweet starter pack. I’ll get on that later.
I’m looking forward to hearing the new one. Obviously.
LikeLiked by 1 person