Antoni Maiovvi : Deathgames

When Antoni Maiovvi drops a new album people take note. Maiovvi is a staple in the electronic/imagined soundtrack world, being one of the OGs of the heavy synth scene. He combines his distinguished songwriting with his knack for propulsive electro/synth music into something that reaches back to a simpler time in music. He came up […]

Wolfmen Of Mars : The Obsolete Illusion

I think the first time I’d ever heard Wolfmen of Mars was on a compilation called SNDTRK, which came out back in 2016 on the now long dead Disco Cinematic Recordings. There was a who’s who of heavy synth artists on that album including Slasher Film Festival Strategy, Xander Harris, Repeated Viewing and an East […]

Steve Nolan : Breathe

Irish composer and electronic musician Steve Nolan knows how to build mood and intrigue when it comes to his scores. He combines the dramatic heft with carefully built swells of strings and synth, while layering beautifully haunting piano over top. The result is often emotionally complex with just the right amount of dread to keep […]

Jan Borre : Grayson II : Sands Of Praconia

Belgian composer and electronic musician Jan Borré works in heady, colorful tones via synths. His work is lush in warm analog vibes and sweeping, cinematic movements. My first time listening to Borré was with his 2019 opus GRAYSON, an imagined soundtrack written around the Star Trek world. In-particular, Mr. Spock and his human mother Amanda Grayson. […]

Salvatore Mercatante : Strega III: Dianus Of Doorways

I first heard New York City’s Salvatore Mercatante way back in 2019 with his excellent dark synth/Giallo exploration Il Lamento della Strega. I was blown away by it as it felt like it was pulled out of some alternate reality; Gothic undertones and 70s Italian horror come together to make this beautiful and eerie sound […]

Alone 1980 : Portal

I’m always excited when there’s new Alone 1980 music to get lost in. The Sweden-based electronic artist has taken the world of imagined soundtracks and elevated it. What started out as a genre influenced and inspired by the sleazy synth world that scored so many b-movie exploitation horror films from the 70s and 80s(many of […]

Jonathan Sharp : Neon Night Ride

It’s 1984. You’re up late on a Friday night with a beer buzz and searching for something to fall asleep to. You pause on USA Up All Night and see the neon glow of L.A.; buildings shimmering in a dusk-lit landscape, twinkling lights like doomed stars pulsate in the inescapable push of night, and an […]

Set Adrift On Memory Tapes 80s Bliss

I grew up in the early days of indoor malls, neon buzz, and Cannon Films. Dual cassette players, VCRs, and arcades were the technology I worshipped. If a movie didn’t have at least a part III or IV it wasn’t worth the trouble. Microwave cakes, hi-top Reeboks, and t-shirts enshrined with Alf, The A-Team, and […]

Antoni Maiovvi : Psychonaut

Listening to Antoni Maiovvi’s brand new album Psychonaut is a visceral experience. It seems to embody all those darkly perfect musical twists and turns we’ve come to love from the horror score/Giallo Disco/imagined soundtrack provocateur. Ominous ambient pieces, sweaty disco synth, and beautifully built synth pop all wrapped up in an all-encompassing musical journey. Maiovvi […]

Shameless Self Promotion Time

For the most part these hallowed pages here at Complex Distractions are meant to highlight musicians and bands that I find interesting. Artists that inspire me enough to talk about them and spread their word across these internet wastelands. As well as talking about music, movies, books, and other art-related stuff, I talk about me. […]