MAINE’s ‘IV’ Gets Gorgeous Vinyl Reissue With Midnight Mannequin Records

My first experience with MAINE, the all-analog electronic music project of France’s Michel Dupay, was with 2017s V. There was something haunting, enchanting, and all-encompassing about the songs on that record. Dupay records with all analog synths, real drums, and real strings and without the use of MIDI, so the songs sound and feel organic […]

“a beautiful conclusion” : Catching Up With Composer Timothy Fife

Back in 2016 I’d come across this 2-song 10 inch from a band called Victims. The EP was called Form Hell and it kind of blew my mind. I’d never heard something that captured the spirit and sonic depth of early 70s Tangerine Dream quite like that. It wasn’t that Victims emulated Froese, but interpreted […]

Ogre : Cybercism

Nobody does 80s dystopian synth music quite like Robin Ogden, aka Ogre. The British electronic composer has been making albums as Ogre for close to a decade and each time out he tweaks and hones the sound to a fine, chromed-out sheen. Touches of horror scores, 80s video game vibes, moody ambient, and even hard […]

“Looking At The Present Moment” : Andrew Crawshaw Talks SFI Recordings

In Seattle, Washington sits a small, boutique electronic music label called SFI Recordings. In its relatively short existence as a label there has been an extensive and prolific catalog of music released. Steve Moore, Majeure, New Frontiers, Paul Riedl, Mnemonic Pulse, and Deathcount In Silicon Valley to name a few. What all these artists have […]

SOMAFREE INSTITUTE : Seek Sound Shelter

On the latest release from Seattle’s SOMAFREE INSTITUTE, the heavy synth trio lays out a cosmic space epic in EP form. Seek Sound Shelter sees the trio, which consists of Andrew Crawshaw, Tim Call, and Justin Thomas Kleine, building a sonic bridge which spans across decades of progressive electronic music. Touches of Klaus Schulze, Zombi, […]

From Overseas and City of Dawn : Misty Memories

The latest from label Past Inside The Present is a free fall into sonic bliss with the collaborative Misty Memories. Bringing together for the first time artists From Overseas and City Of Dawn, this ambient/new age record brings together “nostalgic tape sounds, lo-fi strings, mesmerizing guitar loops, and Kévin(Séry’s) use of subtle vocal samples create […]

zake and Ossa : Syntheticopia

Maybe it’s just me and my own overactive imagination, but when I’m deep in it with some heady ambient and new age music I often imagine floating in space. The deep and healing tones of heavily-effected guitar, the warm buzz of analog synths, the wash of digital pads like static rain, and just the overwhelming […]

Alone 1980 : If Looks Could Kill

Sweden’s Alone 1980 makes sprawling, electro masterpieces of dread and melancholy. Low key synths and electronics lock into late 70s/early 80s DIY horror scores, but Alone 1980 adds their own touches of pop/sci fi/electronic music to give it all a dreamy atmosphere. More like genre synth scores than just horror synth scores, Alone 1980s Mikael […]

Rupert Lally : Forgotten Futures

On the latest album from musician/author Rupert Lally, we deep dive into dystopian sounds and science fiction narratives that feel part Kraftwerk/part Philip K Dick. Retro-futuristic visions and late 70s/early 80s sound worlds come together to pull the listener into a warm and inviting listening experience, that also feels worrisome and paranoid at the same […]

Vangelis : 1943-2022

I’m sure most people my age had their first experience with Greek musician/composer Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou, aka Vangelis, when they watched Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. I didn’t see the unedited version of the film till I was 18 when I rented it from Video World. Before that I’d only seen the edited version that played […]