Castroe - Serum

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

Man, you just knew there was another Werkstatt release lurking about somewhere. You think you get them all, have sifted through every pile, every tower, every folder, but somehow, something slips through the cracks, waiting to pop up when the next round of regular backlog rears its head (somewho, somewhat!). Thing is I kinda' recall listening to this in that last massive run, but it's difficult keeping track of every four-song synthwave EP, especially when you're feeling a touch of the ol' genre burn-out.

I honestly have no idea how some DJs can listen to twenty times the amount of records in a single sitting of just tech-house or minimal techno and have even a fraction of it stick in their minds for future consideration. Like, I can take hefty quantities of some genres, but when you keep hearing the same tricks and tropes played out over and over and over, it doesn't take long for it all to turn to mush in my noggin'. And for as much as I do enjoy synthwave, its tricks and tropes become blatantly obvious in short order indeed. It's one of those fine chocolate genres out there, so succulent, sweet, and tasty when you first consume it, but best indulged for special occasions. Or maybe it's the Turtles/Creme Egg of electronic music, so easy to overdose on when you've been absent of it for a while.

I know I'm willing to take another hefty dive into the genre again (beyond Werkstatt) after hearing just this lone EP. That chugging bassline in opener Nightcrawler, with the flowing backing pads, sparkly synth fills, and chipper arp keeping things moving along... *chef's kiss*, everything I hope to hear in a synthwave tune. And since I haven't listened to much synthwave in this past month, it sounds nice and fresh again, like glistening iceberg lettuce at the supermarket. A good supermarket, not one of those cheap, nickel-and-dime places where the produce arrives wilted.

Coagulator provides the obligatory 'outrun' tune. Intimidate slows things down, and even throws in a charming reverb fade for a small breakdown. Finally, the tituluar closer almost sounds like it needs a vocalist singing about loves lost on the Ocean Drive, in spa-a-ace! Is it just me, or does anyone else get a Starman vibe on this? Seems like a surprisingly untapped Carpenter-'80s thing synthwave has yet to fully exploit. It doesn't have to all be Escape From New York, Miami Vice, and Big Trouble In Little China, y'know.

As is so often the case with this scene though, Castroe (Eduardo Castro to the Austin music clubs) doesn't have much else to his name. Lord Discogs lists another EP released this past year Less Than Zero on Lazerdiscs Records, plus a smattering of Bandcamp offerings before his Werkstatt outing. It's such a shame when I find a synthwaver with panache but lacking in plenty o' consumable goods. Given the ridiculously high turn-over rate of producers, they seem so few and far between.

Cosmo Cocktail - Aurora

Werkstatt Recordings: 2017

Huh. Looks like I wasn't out of the Werkstatt woods after all. It's not like I forgot this album was in the queue either, its cover art quite striking in that classic space-synth mould. In fact, that's probably why I forgot it was a Werkstatt release, almost too good for the label. That's not a dig on the Greece synth peddlers, just that they tend to have a certain aesthetic, the sort of pulpy style you'd expect out of dingy cyperpunk enclaves, not airbrushed cosmic vistas. And while the art isn't anything spectacular either, I get more a Dynatron vibe out of it than Retrosynther. To be honest, I was at a loss of where I got Aurora in the first place, and was savouring the reveal of when I finally got to it proper-like. I'd forgotten it was Werkstatt, knew it wasn't Blood Music, but couldn't think of any other synthwave labels I'd raided these past couple years. Aphasia Records?

A few other factors had me thinking Aurora as an album released elsewhere. For one, Cosmo Cocktail isn't an utter blank within the Discoggian archives: there's even a full name provided! Luca Brumat mostly self-released a smattering of digital EPs, though found an additional outlet with 30th Floor Records, another in the endless amount of synthwave net-labels that emerged this past decade. With no physical releases though, naturally I didn't pay that print any mind, and I'm assuming the lure of tapes and CDs brought Mr. Brumat into the Werkstatt fold. His first one was Atmosphere Zero, with cover art featuring what appears to be a cyborg seaman operating the periscope of a U-boat – ah, that's the Werkstatt aesthetic I'm talkin' about.

Far as I can tell, Aurora is Cosmo Cocktail's magnum-opus, even getting a vinyl re-issue through TimeSlave Recordings (synthwave label # 138, 428, but has Futurecop!). It's certainly some high-grade synthwave music in the space-synth mould (SSSSYYYNNNNNTHHH!). The titular proper-opener captures all the cosmic vibes of casually cruising the solar system in tiny model spaceships against matte paintings and neon vector grids. Unfamiliar Skies adds some new wave vibes with a crooning Ideon. The Skylab Odyssey lays the epic synth chords on heavier. Last Call adds a little acid burbling to a strident new beat space groove. Across Orion Nebula ups the pace some while bringing more of a mysterious tone to the party. We'll Never Come Back serves as a lengthy credits coda to the album. Gagarin! Don't Look Back! ...um, severing ties to an evil galactic mega-corp criminal ring? Got nothing there.

What really pushes Aurora over the edge as one of Werkstatt's best releases is the production, everything coming in clear and crisp, with sonic resonance befitting a professional retro-studio rather than a DIY outfit. Heck, it's even better than some of Blood Music's output, which can sound muddy at times. With all these factors in play, can you blame me for initially thinking Aurora wasn't Werkstatt? I think not!

Timestalker - Arrival Of The Stalkers

Werkstatt Recordings: 2016

Okay, I'm almost certain this is the last Werkstatt Recordings item I have left to review. I've gone through my backlog, and am positive nothing's among the 'B' albums. I don't want to say this will definitively close the door on my coverage of Toxic Razor's print, because there's some chance another release from there will catch my eye (always the eye before the ear with Werkstatt). No more thematic bulk buys though, nosiree, bobski. Finally, I can say I'm closing the book on this odd chapter of my blog's history, wherein the promise of more synthwave than I could shake a Yamaha DX7 at was there for the taking (also: sweet stickers).

Arrival Of The Stalkers is as fitting a cap on my Werkstatt saga as any, a release that seems to encapsulate what I initially found so darn cool about the label, but eventually worn down by too. It's got the striking cover art, in this case a Judge Dredd future-shock depiction, though set in bright neo-Tokyo rather than the grimdark slums of the original comic – always what is thought represented that decade, not what was. However, Timestalker is mostly a Discoggian blank, though at least has a follow-up album listed and a Bandcamp link leading to a couple more releases. It looks as though he's developed a tidy if small career for himself, which is more than can be said for nearly half the Werkstatt alum I've thus far covered. And if the Bandcampian algorithm is suggesting GosT in association with your music, you must be doing something right.

The titular opener also perfectly hits all those tasty attributes my enjoyment of synthwave craves. The 'ripped from a Cannon Film Group newscast' sample, the crunchy darksynth low-ends, the bright, ear-wormy synth leads, and ooh, some added string pads at the peaks. It's nothing I haven't heard before from this genre, but it does it exactly the way I like it, which is the least I ever ask for in the music I like.

Follow-up track Rise Of The Pariah hints at another winner, with that good ol' Carpenter influence going in the rhythm. Unfortunately, the bright lead synths accompanying the tough low-end is a serious clash of tones, and the tune struggles to coalesce into anything memorable. Outbreak Of Evil suffers for this too, a strong opening of aggressive darksynth ideas, undone by a clashing lead synth; also, whoof, that keychange. And did I ever want to like Ultra-Violence, getting in on that outrun Perturbator stylee, if only the chirping synths meshed better.

And that sums up my experience with much of Werkstatt's catalogue, don't it? Excitable initial lure, a tune or two that captures my fancy, but a bunch of niggling things that reminds me there's a lot of amateur producers still finding their feet. Still, I'll always give the label credit for giving these aspiring musicians an opportunity, some of whom have gone onto bigger careers. Gotta' start somewhere.

Advanced UFO Phantom - Alliance Of Worlds

Werkstatt Recordings: 2013

What's funniest about this EP is its alphabetical placement in my music directory. I've just completed a run of three 'alien' albums, plus there's a fourth one I reviewed a couple years ago (Nacht Plank's Alien). Come to think of it, it wasn't too far back that I'd revisited Alien Project too (cringe), so there's definitely something of an extra-terrestrial nature lurking in this lump of music of mine. Heck, might there have been some Greys lurking in Air Farina too, some unidentified flying thing that come down from sky? This particular release doesn't have 'alien' in its title, yet here it is, appearing in the list just a couple items after all the others. And I find that hilarious because with cover art like that, you'd just assume Alliance Of Worlds a shoo-in for hanging out with its alien brethren. Not quite, standing between them a pair of robots, a local rocker, some ancient mystics, and those Irish dudes who just won't go away.

That's all I really got for this EP. No, wait, this was also Werkstatt's ninety-ninth release, one shy of hitting the big one-double-oh. Of course, the Greek label is up to three-hundred-five now, but it's always a special moment when you first hit that triple digit achievement. Goodness though, I don't remember what my one-hundredth CD was. For sure I was buying music at a respectable clip for a teenager with almost no significant income, but it wasn't until I started working at a music shop that I truly began indulging my musical consumption habits. My guess it was something from Moonshine. My one-thousandth CD, then? Ah, hm, I don't remember that one either, and it couldn't have been more than a year or two ago that I got it. It all comes in such waves and bunches now.

Anything else? Ooh, the one-hundred-one item in Werkstatt's catalogue was GosT's debut EP, Nocturnal Shift, so that's kinda' cool. Oh, you mean about this release I'm supposed to be reviewing. Well, as Rorschach As Voiced By It'sJustSomeRandomGuy would say, “Hrrm.”

I honestly have nothing to work with here. There's zero information of who Advanced UFO Phantom is, not even a brief blurb on the Bandcamp page. For all I know, this could be Werkstatt head Toxic Razor under another alias. He/She/They/Being-From-Beyond appeared on that Aeon Nemesis compilation I'm sure y'all have already forgotten about, but didn't offer anything worth a namedrop there.

And so it is with Alliance Of Worlds, a four-track EP that musically failed to grab my attention. The titular opener, at not even three-minutes long, is chipper, Alien Combat and Oblivion Oracles Of Beta Orionis work more a New Beat groove, while Empyrean Star opts for a chill closer. It all just sounds like so many other under-produced sci-fi synthwave offerings from this label though, with little unique to say about it. Alien Combat does have a decent New Beat stomp to it, but that's the extent of anything I can recommend about this release.

Various - Aeon Nemesis

Werkstatt Recordings: 2014

Aww yeah, this is exactly what's lured me into synthwave, isn't it? Retro futurism, cosmic setting, video game cockpit, vector grids galore. And ooh, can't forget that potential narrative brewing. What is the Aeon Nemesis? An inter-dimensional being we must fight? The concept of defeating time itself? Just a couple of cool sounding words slapped together for marketing purposes? So many conceptual possibilities, these synthwave albums, and what better way to truly explore those limitless ideas than rounding up a bunch of producers with similar muses for a big ol' label showcase? That'll get folks digging deeper into the back-catalogue, no doubt.

If you're wondering how I ended up with so many Werkstatt Recordings items, it's because of compilations like this. Get the main feature, plus a bulk deal on CDs with tie-in artists. From this, I nabbed Beatbox Machinery (of course), Toxik Synther, Advanced UFO Phantom, plus a nifty t-shirt with Arcade Metropolis' logo across. Funny thing, regarding that t-shirt. When I wear it to work, a co-worker inquiries whether it's in association with the Arcade Metropolis once located in downtown Vancouver (before the dark times; before the gentrification). Naturally not, but does that ever bring back memories, wandering the once seedier side of the city's urban core, where all manner of strange, darkened places warned that only surly teenagers could enter. To say nothing of the striking mannequins my father would suddenly flush with embarrassment should we venture past on the way to a second-hand music shop. Man, downtown Vancouver was a different beast back when. Not quite Times Square pre-Rudy or anything, but there's a reason many pick-up shots for a Manhattan-based movie would be done in Vancouver.

Anyhow, I had a'lotta anticipation going into this one, as cool cover art is wont to do upon my psyche. You'd think after so many years led astray by dodgy psy trance CDs with cool cover art that I'd learn it, too, can happen in other scenes, especially ones as filled with amateur producers as synthwave. It's not that the music within Aeon Nemesis is piss-poor or anything, but it doesn't lift itself to the standards I've gone and set for myself either. Yes, I've actually developed 'standards' for synthwave – there's only so much time I can give to the endless options this genre now has, and I don't need to waste it on middle-of-the-road material.

A few tracks do offer some nifty ideas, like Beta Grid's hip-hop electro-acid Omni-Halo Matrix, Liege Viper's peppy outrun outing of Rising Star, and Arcade Metropolis' epic excursion of Take Hold Of The Flame - at six-minutes of runtime, it easily outpaces everything else on this compilation. Unfortunately, little else stands out from the synthwave glut, and nothing really highlights or builds upon whatever theme Aeon Nemesis was going for. It's just another collection of synthwave tunes, though did come with some cool extra swag if you jumped on it first run. Werkstatt's swag game is always on point.

Toxik Synther - Technocracy Assassins

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

All these Werkstatt artists are blending into each other. For as long as I've had this EP, I thought this was a Toxic Razor release – y'know, that dude who runs the label. I was even making mental notes about it leading up to this review, a couple talking points about his impossibly high work-rate with so many projects and label management taking up his time, where this particular collection of four tracks fits into it all. Like, the music on here doesn't quite fit the mould of his other releases, less of that rough analog production compared to other items I've covered thus far. And when there's something kinda' different about a release in an artist's discography, that gives me tons of different things to wax the bull about! So I head on over to Lord Discogs to get additional info, submit the CD release of Technocracy Assassins because of course it hasn't yet, then realize Toxik Synther has only two releases with the Database That Knows All. Wait, what?

Ooohhh.... Toxik Synther, with a 'K'. Not Toxic Razor, with a 'C'. Huge difference, that. Just how many Toxic/k's is in synthwave anyhow? *sixty percent of synthwave stands up cheering “yo'!”* I knew it, I'm surrounded by toxins. Keep toxin, Toxics!

Unfortunately for me, Toxik Synther is yet another utter blank in the Werkstatt canon. Lord Discogs has no info, beyond listing his two EPs released on the label. There's no details with the Bandcamp pages for this and Agent Of Technology, save a Soundcloud link. And that leads to a page with three tracks on it, with no updates in three years. For all intents, Toxik Synther came in, released a couple tunes while synthwave was hot enough that any ol' chap or chappette could get material out, then went his separate way into the winds of MIDI. Or this really is a pseudonym for Toxic Razor.

Hey, don't snicker at that prospect. There's one tell that makes me suspect as such - okay, beyond the all too similar handle. In much of Razor's work, I've noticed an interest in anti-establishment, corporate-rebellion themes, which makes sense given how much he draws influence from EBM and industrial music. Synthwave, on the other hand, doesn't get heavy with the political too often, its chosen lane typically loving nods to the poppy and fantastical of '80s synth music. Yeah, it can sometimes paint as bleak a future-shock portrait as any John Carpenter score, but more in service of action-packed music than trying to drop Very Important messages about the corruption of the powers that be.

With track titles like Politics Of Deception and War Conspiracy, coupled with knarly EBM grooves, Toxik Synther ain't bullshittin' his stance on the rot that infects our leaders. On the other hand, Psychomancers Of Polaris is pure chipper, adventurous synth-pop, so maybe all is not so bad is it seems to be. 2015 was still such an optimistic time, wasn't it.

Miami Beach Force - The Revenge

Werkstatt Recordings: 2014

This is about as peak synthwave as you're gonna' find, isn't it? Like, I'm hesitant calling it cliche, because part of the scene's modus operani is taking the cliches we associate with '80s synth music and art, and relishing in them. No Carpenter movie untouched, no hard-boiled cop show with pastel suits left un-homage'd. True, this title's lacking anything pulp sci-fi or purple vector grid based, but when we think of the most Cannon of films out there, it's always cheap, direct-to-VHS action movie sequels involving some form of revenge, typically undertaken by an action force, and half the time set in Miami. Or Los Angeles, if the film crew is really cheaping out on location shoots.

What I find funny about billing yourself as Miami Beach Force is, depending on the era, you could have been a completely different type of music. Obviously if an M.B.F. posse had existed in the Actual Eighties, they'd have been a freestyle act, rockin' the Planet Rock break as everyone from Miami was (or lift it direct from the Kraftwerk's Numbers break, they weren't picky). Flash forward to the Nineties, however, and an act going by the nom de plume of Miami Beach Force could have been anything from Florida breaks to trunk-rattling audio bass to even some Latin infused dance music (reggaeton, maybe? It had started its migration by then). What it definitely would not have been, however, was anything retro-synth related, such sounds utterly unhip and dead throughout that decade. The '00s are trickier to nail, all manner of scenes likely contenders for drumming up a Miami Beach Force handle: electro house, a crunk crew, even an insufferably ironic emo punk band!

In this case though, Miami Beach Force are in fact a pair of Swedish brothers (I'm assuming brothers, what with both having last names of Ekman), and have mostly plied their synthwave sounds through Soundcloud streams. Werkstatt Recordings gave them their first taste of proper label distribution with this particular EP, which was kinda-sorta their second release...? They had enough prior tunes on their Soundcloud to make up an album's worth, but I'm not seeing any other outlets curating them into such (and lord knows Lord Discogs remains indignant with these streaming synthwavers). They've eked out a little career since the release of The Revenge, even appearing on that hip New York City synthwave label NewRetroWave, but that's neither here nor there (what a strange phrase, that).

I wish I had more to say about The Revenge, but I'm still quite synthwave'd out right now, and Miami Beach Force aren't doing anything here that distances them from the pack. It's got a couple moody numbers, a couple high-octane cuts, and it all sounds very vintage and deserving of a mini-movie staring tough, mullety cops out on the beat, serving up justice in a neon-soaked glow. Stylishly. Sexily. While ducking for cover behind white brick walls. And dammit, they really could use a shave. That perpetual 5am shadow must be itchy.

Beatbox Machinery - New Wave Avalanche

Werkstatt Recordings: 2016

Just because I said I'm tapping out on Werkstatt Recordings for a while didn't mean I was tapping out altogether. They had a lot of bulk CD sales, see, and I couldn't help myself in nabbing a massive amount of 'em, even if I had almost no clue what would be on them. For sure I figured they'd offer synthwave, plus a whole lotta' love given to '80s music like synth-pop, darkwave, new wave, EBM, and maybe some unexpected surprises too (futurepop, is that you?). What I didn't expect was such a lenient degree of quality control, but hey, everyone's gotta' start somewhere, and good on Werkstatt in giving so many their first taste of real label-backed business (however that business may go down behind closed doors). On this buyer's end, however, that means it's time to take a step back from all the discount deals, and only focus on the items that truly interest me. Y'know, maybe as I should have in the first place. But, oh man, would I have truly dug into Kriistal Ann otherwise? Conflict, conflict...

Meanwhile, let's carry on with all that I've nabbed from the Greece label, this time with another outing from Werkstatt head-man Toxic Razor, once again from his Beatbox Machinery alias. New Wave Avalanche is one of many singles he's released over the years, and was included in one of the aforementioned bulk deals, hence my having it now. Yeah, not gonna' deny I've been generally lukewarm to his brand of synth music, but that may be in part of just not taking in enough of his material. Like, I'm pretty I can pass on his earliest industrial techno excursions, but he's adopted plenty more retro-leaning tunes since the turn of the decade. He's also paired up with other producers I quite enjoy (Ann, GosT), and he definitely knows how to capture '80s cheese-chic in his cover art few other synthwavers out there have (oh God, that Metal On Metal cover – so stupidly simple, so dope!).

Point I'm getting at is, of all the Beatbox Machinery items that could have been included in whatever that bulk CD deal I grabbed (I honestly forget what the theme was now – probably somehting 'synth'), New Wave Avalanche comes off a little drab in comparison to the rest of Mr. Razor's discography. It almost seems too self-serious, like there's Important Messages in this EP. It's just the usual anti New World Order stuff we've heard from the industrial camps for decades now, with titles like Slavestate, Deoxidize The Union, and New World Of Shit. The music itself mashes EBM and synthwave into Mr. Razor's unapologetic, under-produced aesthetic, which fits the anti-establishment tone, but Toxic's own lyrics do little to inspire me to Fight The Man. I get he's going for that detached vibe, as though modern existence has stripped all emotion and feeling from our sense of self, but man, I'd just as soon succumb to the numbness than overcome listening to this.

Kubinski - Life Boy

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

I think I'm about ready to tap out with regards to Werkstatt material. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means turning my back on the synth label, and I'll keep tabs on the artists on their roster I've enjoyed. In buying up so many of their bulk deals, however, I fear I've burned myself out on their general aesthetic. There's only so much anonymous, amateur music production I can take before the novelty of it all wears down, and one thing has become clear, Werkstatt head Toxic Razor takes a 'toss every dart at the board' approach with whom he releases. When he hits that bull's-eye, *chef's kiss*, but I've come across a number of artists hugging the outer ring numbers too.

This Life Boy from Kubinski lands somewhere in those big open spaces between the double and triple point rings, possibly in the eight or nine slot, the dart at a slightly askew angle, as thrown by an individual with at least a half-dozen pints previously consumed. Man, is that ever a specific metaphor. One of the unique things about this chap is he hails from Porto Alegre, a city on the southern end of Brazil. Or Rio De Janeiro, depending on which source you go with (forever battling, are Lord Discogs and King Bandcamp). Regardless, it's cool Werkstatt will give a little shine to what's undoubtedly a completely neglected scene. When we think of Brazilian music, it's hyper-sexual Latin dance music, or whatever quirky jazz offspring has sprung up (there's always a new one every decade). And with regards to electronic dance music in South America, it's always the Chilean tech-haus dudes who get the glory. Kubinski proves there's more music in that region than what gets all the sexy exposes.

Man though, could this album have used another once-over on the production department. We're firmly in chipper synth-pop territory here, with splashes of synthwave for good measure, but I can barely hear Kubinksi's lyrics over the big 'n gaudy synths. His vocals are drenched in echo and reverb, capturing that vintage '80s feel where everything was drenched in echo and reverb, but at least I could understand what those singers were saying, even when obscured by thick accents and broken English. Even on the more stripped-back tunes like Baroque and M.O.V.I.N. though, I've difficulty understanding much of what he's saying. Matter Of Time fares better, where the lyrics are clear and upfront, displaying a Tiga charm that only sparingly peaks through in the other songs. D.Day is also fun, in that the musical muscle behind it is strong enough to override the buried vocals.

I dunno. The ideas are there, but the execution on Life Boy is just off to my ears. I kinda' preferred his previous, pure synthwave EPs. Like, how can you not dig the retro-charm of Blade Revenge, a ninja overlooking a 16-bit skyline? Or Reach featuring a glorious beauty-shot of Saturn looming over a vector grid? *chef's kiss*

3FORCE - The Intergalactic LP

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

How nice it is getting a Werkstatt release with some meat I can dig into. An artist with ample info available! An actual Discoggian entry! Packaged with a faux-vinyl CDr! Man, I thought those things a gimmicky novelty over a decade ago, and didn't see many of them floating around after their initial emergence – when folks burn themselves a CD, they usually go with the cheapest option, maybe flairing things up with some fancy labelling. Now though, I'm seeing them with greater frequency than ever, mostly from Bandcamp outlets. It's as though labels realize not everyone can afford an actual collector's edition coloured vinyl, so here's a CD approximation instead.

As for 3FORCE, hoo boy, is this ever a crazy one. Consisting of three members, brothers Dmitry & Alexey Goncharenko, plus Andrey Novikov, the players involved couldn't have had more differing musical backgrounds if they tried. The Brothers Gonch' have a tidy career going as Gancher & Ruin making a sort of ...2-step hardcore? The beats are all 'dssh ck-CHATCK dssh ck-CHATCK', like the build of a vicious Ed Rush & Optical tear-out – it's pretty unique, all things considered, though like most hardcore, tiring after a while. Mr. Novikov, meanwhile, makes spacious ambient soundscapes and light psy-chill as Eyescream, even getting nods from the likes of Simon Heath, SiJ and Carbon Based Lifeforms. Naturally, these musicians on complete opposites of the music spectrum decided they had chemistry and made some synthwave tunes together. I couldn't have made that up if I tried.

So right off the bat, 3FORCE (gotta' be capitalized!) has a leg up on many synthwave acts out there, in that they're already established producers with some songcraft chops behind them. Not that their backgrounds have much to do with the genre they decided to tackle, but it at least gives their tunes a polish that often lacks in many synthwave releases. I usually don't mind the amateurish nature of this scene, but man, is it ever a treat when you get something as slick as the stuff this trio offered up in their debut album, The Intergalactic LP.

And yeah, this eight-track album pretty much follows the standard synthwave tropes. Hot, outrun tunes to open up, some slower jams in the middle for those late-night cruises on a neon-drenched boulevard, the necessary, intermission 'chill-out' cut that could work just as well as a closing credits theme, and the reflective finishers as we race towards our climax where we fight aliens in space DeLoreans. Or something.

There's plenty of sounds on display too, from your usual synthwave synths and pads, to cheeky samples and chiptune bleeps and blorps (Intrusion, Celestial Squad), to piano interludes (Nuclear Sunday, Intergalactic). And damn, some fine-ass rhythms and basslines to boot. All that's missing from this album is a dope narrative the best synthwave artists provide. Perturbator may still be the gold-standard in this scene, but with a little more focus (and promotion), 3FORCE could challenge that mantle.

Aidan Casserly - Incubus

Werkstatt Recordings: 2016

This has been bugging me ever since I threw this album from Aidan Casserly on: what vocalist does he remind me of? Like, for sure one of those New Romantic new wavers of the '80s springs to mind, but it feels lazy to name-drop someone like Simon Le Bon or Dave Gahan. No, it's someone more specific than that, by my knowledge of the New Romantics of the '80s is pitifully slight, so I'm drawing a blank. Heck, at this point, I'm thinking Curt Smith or Roland Orzabal, which is way off base for any number of reasons. Or maybe it's not even someone from the '80s. Aidan clearly takes influence from jazz crooners of decades past, as his albums flit with traditional lounge soul as often as synth-pop. Heck, he even got Kriistal Ann to duet with him for a full record's worth of tunes on Muse, which Werkstatt Recordings surprisingly released, one of the un-synthiest items in the catalogue of the self-proclaimed vanguards of retro synth music. Oh, and speaking of Muse, its cover-art, which only features Ms. Ann, is also used as the default picture for Mr. Casserly's Spotify profile. What the bizmark, Spotti?

So Aidan Casserly's been around a while, first starting out as part of the Irish synth-pop group Empire State Human in the early 2000s. Yep, even that far back, among that whole ironic-retro revival era, there were chaps making straight-forward odes to The Human League – what better time to enter the game when interest in the O.G. of synth-pop were resurgent, amirite? The group remains active to this date, but that hasn't stopped Mr. Casserly from pursuing solo interests as well. Aside from the collaborative album with Kriistal Ann, and this particular album Incubus, which I just uploaded, Lord Discogs lists two other releases to his name. Uh, and Spotify has four additional releases, plus a... soundtrack for The Amityville Legacy? Is that the same Aidan, Spotify? You already got his profile picture wrong.

In any event, Incubus is his third album with Werkstatt, and to be blunt, I didn't really vibe to this. Part of it is just due to being a style of synth-pop I'm not that into, Aidan's over-emotive croon not connecting with me like other new wave singers. I'm not discounting his pipes, and maybe in another, more traditional context they would tickle my ears better (like, maybe in a more Bowie setting), but the stripped-down synth-pop backings don't mesh so well. Some of the backing melodies are charming enough, and a couple tunes do find Mr. Casserly hitting stirring climaxes that get me roused (cannot deny the big “We're dead sin!” peak of Dead Sin does me right; sounds like "We're dancing" to my ears tho'). Also, Kriistal Ann pops in for a couple guest spots (Here Come The Dolls, Slow), and there's an interlude-instrumental in Escape Is Not An Option. Aside from those moments though, not much beyond Aidan's own croon stuck out on Incubus, which isn't his fault. Just not music for me.

Beatbox Machinery - Glam Nights

Werkstatt Recordings: 2017

I've talked a lot about Werkstatt Recordings since stumbling upon them nearly two years ago (holy cow!). I've talked a bunch about ultra-obscure acts that hardly anyone could have a care for, but Werkstatt cared enough to give them a little promotional shove into the big, scary world of the music industry. I've even talked to some length about specific artists and their contributions to the Werkstatt legacy, diving into their myriad releases and projects with the label and abroad. And yet, I've barely mentioned much of Werkstatt founder, Toxic Razor (I still don't know what his real name is ...I think he prefers it that way). Obviously dropped his name in passing, as you're wont to do when discussing projects he's been a part of with Kriistal Ann, but actually taking in an album of his own music? Crazy to think it's taken twelve releases from the label for me to get there. Lucky number thirteen for Mr. Razor, eh? Also, has it really only been a dozen reviews for this label thus far? Huh, sure feels like more at this point.

Far as I can tell though, Beatbox Machinery is his solo project. He has occasional drop-ins from Ms. Ann and others for a little vocal and synth support, but the musical direction primarily comes from his brain matter. And as befitting a muse with an ear for the retro, all the music is performed with vintage analogue gear, so that unpolished vibe you hear is intentional, yo'. The early Beatbox Machinery singles and albums leaned heavier into industrial and techno's realm, releasing digital singles at a ridiculous clip – how'd this guy ever find the time to run a label too?

It wasn't long before synthwave started gaining popularity, and Mr. Razor shifted gears to reflect that sound, seemingly capping another endless run of singles with a fifty-one track, triple-LP effort in A Synth Trilogy. Man, after all that, no wonder he and Kriistal decided to strip things down to a simpler sound as Paradox Obscur. He must have been feeling that synth-pop itch again though, as he's brought the Beatbox Machinery alias back for his first new album in two years. Hey, given the rate of output, twenty-four months is a heck of a gap for any Toxic Razor project!

I also get the sense that tireless work-rate leaves his discography lacking in some quality control. Eight tracks make up Glam Nights, all doing the synthwave, synth-pop, outrun, post-electroclash (!?) thing. The guest vocalists are fun - Occams Laser's turn on Fast Cars, Palm Trees & Hot Ladies reminds me Sexor-era Tiga , and it's almost bizarre hearing Kriistal Ann singing such a peppy tune in Love Is Gone. This production though... I get Toxic Razor likes keeping things real and authentic, as though he's in a synthwave garage band. Everything's so mushed though, I have difficulty getting into much here. Give me that stripped-down Paradox Obscur stuff instead, mate.

ACE TRACKS: June 2018

So this past month hasn't been the most active with regards to reviews, not even cracking the twenty-mark. Whatever has caused this plunge in productivity, you may wonder. Has the uncertainty of continued gainful employment sent my psyche into chaotic disarray? Perhaps a comparatively dreary June has sent me into a depressive sickness and funk? Or maybe those weekly bonus mini-reviews over on my Patreon have eaten more free writing time than I could have ever predicted? None of the above, I say!

Truth is, I've been distracted by something far more insidious, a Real Time Strategy game. Yes, I decided to dust off the ol' Rise Of Nations, and let me tell you, if you've ever played it (or it's genetic ancestors Age Of Empires and Civilization), it can be one serious time sink of an experience. Single battles aren't that big a deal, as they last no longer than ninety minutes anyway. No, what truly eats into your life are the Conquest Modes, five different campaigns where you get to... TAKE OVER THE WORLD (you heard it in the voice, admit it!). By adding Risk elements to the whole experience, you can spend whole days retracing the steps of Alexander and Napoleon, or take control of a Native American civilization to expunge European invaders from your lands (or vice-versa, if you must), not to mention a good ol' Cold War extravaganza (yay Nuclear Armageddon!). It's a very addictive, very time-consuming game, is what I'm saying. AND THEN there's the time spent watching various Let's Plays of Rise Of Nations, just to see if there's some tips or tricks I might have missed. I've concluded that, while everyone of these players are good, they all seem to miss a couple things that could have made their games much easier (does no one know about the TAB hotkey, seriously!??) Overall, there's never enough hours in the day, just never enough. But hey, here's some ACE TRACKS from June at least.


Full track list here.


MISSING ALBUMS:
Spacetime Continuum - Emit Ecaps
Ishqamatics - Earthbound
Curve - Doppelganger
Plunderphonics - Plunderphonics
Michael Mantra - D#m / Gm

Percentage Of Hip-Hop: 9%
Percentage Of Rock: 0%
Most “WTF?” Track: 9mm Goes Bang, at least as an opener.

Ah, this was a much smoother, flowing alphabetical playlist. Probably helps there's a hefty chunk of Werkstatt material on here, so a little synth- pop/wave homogeneity is present. The few detours into techno, breaks, rap, and trance at least help keep things spicy.

Quantum - Darktech

Werkstatt Recordings: 2014

Here we go again. A Werkstatt Recordings release featuring an artist with this as their lone entry at Lord Discogs, and no bio to speak of. It's starting to feel like sifting through long-forgotten goa trance compilations on ultra-obscure French labels containing a pile of one-offs barely anyone's even aware existed. Or maybe I'm just feeling that way given the nature of this particular item, but it's astounding how many dead-ends I've met finding things out about artists released under the Werkstatt banner. I mean, hey, nice of them giving all these unknowns a little extra promotional buzz beyond whatever Soundcloud and Bandcamp tags provide (d'em stickers, yo'!), but surely both parties could be a little more involved than this? Is it some Millennial thing I'm not aware of, online music makers flaunting any and all traditional modes of distribution and PR? Hey, I'm hip, I'm game to the Streamstep and Cloudcore play.

Fortunately, there's a little more info regarding this Quantum fellow in other outlets, including confirming it is a dude we're dealing with here. No doubt about the sex this time out, the associated iconography featuring a menacing Predator-like creature in shadow, its skeletal features illuminated by kinetic neon light. It's like something straight out of psy-trance's playbook, which makes sense as Mr. Rasmussen freely admits to cribbing ideas from that scene and incorporating them with the trendier new hotness of synthwave. It makes for a weird hybrid I haven't heard before, though edges just enough into the psy side of things I'm surprised Werkstatt picked this up at all. Like, isn't their whole modus operani reviving any and all '80s sounds and vibes, from industrial to synth-pop to EBM to space-synth? What's a decidedly '90s genre doing here? Gotta' corner every niche these days.

Actually, Darktech isn't retro in either a '90s or '80s fashion. Yeah, it features the same style of chugging, 'outrun' rhythm synthwavers love indulging, but Quantum does it in a real gritty, vicious darksynth manner – has Blood Music heard this guy yet? There's also ample sprinklings of the half-step 'metal-thrash' bridge dudes like Perturbator are always doing, which keeps things in the realm of synthwave, I guess. Like, if this was a real psy-trance project, those bridges would have been triplets. Aside from that though, everything else has me thinking psy-trance, from the screaming leads, to the chaotic bridges, to the trippy arps. Hell, I'm even willing to cautiously inch towards calling Worldeater aggrotech, that semi-existent '90s sub-genre of industrial that got all comfy with techno. It's certainly noisy enough to fit the vibe

I'm sure there's some micro-nano-yocto sub-genre of the psy scene that would claim singular ownership of Quantum's stylistic fusion (it's called 'psy-synth', isn't it... *sigh*), which really, really, really makes me want to tap out on all that nonsense. Mr. Rasmussen's just made some nifty tunes with a unique identity that can fit in either camp. It isn't necessary to create a lone island for every style.

Fantastisizer - The Dark Sun

Werkstatt Recordings: 2013

And another one of these! Is this just something that comes with the synthwave scene, where anonymity is a currency as with early dubstep? Not like I have much of a leg to stand on here. I've been on the interwebs for over two decades now, and would like to think I've maintained at least a semi-anonymous presence. You can find pictures and details about myself if you really want to look for them, but I haven't plastered them all over the place for all to see either. If music had been a stronger calling for my muse than writing though, would I still walk this shadowy path through the Information Super-Highway (wow, there's a callback)?

I suppose it would matter just how successful I'd become. A forgotten single or two, who cares where it came from, but if it was even a minor hit, someone would at least be looking at Lord Discogs for additional info. How many details would I want shared, then? Full name and bio? A third-person essay? Just some scrub nonsense? All these Soundcloud kids and Bandcamp bands may not be ready for the limelight that is Discogs Famous, preferring their real lives unintruded upon. Not every amateur producer needs their musical upbringing splayed out. Some just had a few softsynths at their disposal, cranked out a couple tunes on a lark, and happened to get noticed by a digital label who's quality control has no lower limit. It's a tale as old as time.

Fantastisizer's tunes are nicely crafted synthwave tunes though – I wouldn't have sprung for the bulk pack deal from Werkstatt Recordings including it if I thought otherwise. And of course, there's absolutely no additional information of who this is, where they're from, and all that good stuff us 'music critics' are supposed to detail. I suppose if I wanted to do some actual 'journalism', I might use an email and contact Fantastisizer personally, but what if they prefer this anonymity? They (he? she? I kinda' wanna go with 'she' for a change – why should every electronic producer be assumed a 'he'?) does have a Soundcloud and Facebook page that hasn't been updated in a few years, so dead ends there. Even 'her' Bandcamp offers a mere two additional releases before calling it quits in late 2014 [EDIT: Spotify also has an additional track dated 2017, so not abandoned after all]. Either that, or whoever was behind the Fantastisizer alias (gads, do my fingers ever trip over each other typing that name) moved onto another project, though this one isn't outright obscure. At least a couple dozen folks have snagged up tunes from Fantastiszer – the 'name your price' price don't hurt.

Four tunes make up The Dark Sun, all of which doing that slightly chipper synthwave stylee with twee synths and moody rhythms. There's almost a trance vibe to some of these, especially Before Dawn, which I didn't expect. When something's titled The Dark Sun, it ain't the obvious feels you usually get.

Falcon Reekon - Consecration

Werkstatt Recordings: 2016

This is ridiculous. Would it kill the Discogs community to be more thorough in its data-logging? I get that it's mind-numbing to keep track of EVERY. SINGLE. digital release, and there honestly should be a little quality control - Soundcloud demos and giveaways need not apply. But if the Discoggian community allows DJ tapes and exclusive white labels into the archives, surely items that have an actual price tag attached to them are worthy as well. A mere half-dozen souls may buy a $2 track, but that legitimizes Bandcamp releases far more than some of the rubbish I've come across in the utter recesses of CDr-Land.

What I'm getting at is, despite only two albums appearing in Falcon Reekon's Discoggian profile, his Bandcamp provides plenty more: an additional five albums, a single track release, plus a compilation of old material. Why hasn't anyone entered these as well? Is it because they're self-released, and not tied to an actual label like Werkstatt Recordings? That don't fly, 'cause I've seen oodles of 'self-released' entries throughout Discogs too, especially from the ambient camps. Is it because synthwave remains a rather niche interest, so young that dedicated chroniclers of the genre's releases are scarce? It sure ain't like a decade ago, when every micro-genre would have a three-dozen blogs sharing the same few singles at a time. Not that I've gone out of my way to discover otherwise, but I do wonder if I'm one of the few folks out there even giving labels like Werkstatt any attention at all. I did not ask for this burden, but if such is my fate, then so be it.

Falcon Reekon is... um, Falcon Reekon, from France. Of course Lord Discogs has no other information on him, although neither does his Bandcamp. His Soundcloud adds where the name comes from ('80s inspired, naturally), but no details regarding actual name and the like. Proper anonymous action. For a chap with nine albums under his belt, you'd think he'd (it is 'he', right?) be a little more up on the promotional game. What would I know about that though, the very antithesis of self-hype?

Consecration is Falcon Reekon's second album with Werkstatt, and is about as typical and classy a synthwave album as it gets. Not a bad thing if you're still vibing on the stuff, as I am, but if the likes of Perturbator haven't convinced you of the genre, there's little chance this album will either. A few 'outrun' styled tunes aside (Live Chase, Outrunners Wiz Attitude, Overnight), Consecration is also some of the most chill synthwave I've come across, without ever sliding into sappy synth-pop. It almost sounds like synthwave inspired by house and disco than anything strictly ripped from the '80s. A deeper vibe, if you will, suitable for late night cruises on the boulevard rather than tearing through neon-soaked roads. Why, I'd almost be willing to call it 'deep-wave', but don't let the Bandcamp Tagging Consortium know – tags are abused enough as it is.

Hide And Sequence - You Should Have Destroyed

Werkstatt Recordings: 2015

I want to see this movie. That is what Hide And Sequence really wants to make, right? The artwork for this remix EP is far too lush for any ol' collection of alternate takes. His other releases suggest a narrative of sorts, the usual cyberpunk tale of androids coming to grips with their humanity or overthrowing their oppressive existence (y'know, that ol' chestnut), but, mang', just look at that art! Even without hearing a single synth note or space pad or vocoder lyric, you have an entire six book epic worked out in your head, don't you. Sure, synthwave is replete with such iconography, but something about this one pushes things to another level, beyond what's required to grab your attention (ie: '80s cars, neon colours, sci-fi spaceships). There's a saga to be told by this lone figure in a digital wasteland, and damn don't I want to discover it.

Lord Discogs doesn't have much information regarding Hide And Sequence, this EP his lone entry, plus a few, scattered compilation contributions. It's kinda' maddening just how behind the ball The Lord That Knows All is when it comes to synthwave releases. Like, I get it, it's a scene that's overflowing with amateurs, one-offs and bedroom producers self-releasing their stuff through Soundcloud and Bandcamp. It's difficult keeping up with it all, not to mention has more of a younger following compared to the median age of Discoggian contributors – this scene would rather chronicle their music collecting through outlets like Reddit rather than a record database. Maybe it'll all find its way to Discogs too, but Yet Another Synthwave Track doesn't seem to have as much entry priority as all those Detroit techno white labels.

Anyhow, there's more info over at Hide And Sequence's Bandcamp page, so here's some particulars. The project is helmed by Australian Jason Taylor, and first emerged in 2013 with a free mini-album called The Fall. He then released a longer album with Werkstatt Recordings called Resurrection, followed by this remix EP You Should Have Destroyed. He's since released a few more items, moving closer to the realms of film scores than straight-up synth pop. Ooh, nifty t-shirts too!

Two new tracks appear on this EP, the titular opener which does the Carpenter-ode thing, while No Place On Earth has a foreboding air about it. These remixes, though, hot damn! Tundra turns My Darkest Fear into a gut-wrenching futurepop New Beat thing. Hexamoten reworks Resurrection into a menacing, electro-gothic outing (are those Blaster Beam effects on the lyrics? Sure sounds like 'em), while Syntax coerces the same tune into a subtle, poppier New Beat vibe. Meanwhile, even Werkstatt boss Toxic Razor couldn't help but add his touch to one of HAS' tunes, his Beatbox Machinery rub on Perfect Lie making for a chipper synth-pop outing. Nicely adds some levity to all the futurepop melodrama in these lyrics. Yet, even those, I find quite lovely, especially the digitized words in Resurrection. Movie version of these songs, now!

Various - The Werkstatt Chronicles - 2009-2014

Werkstatt Records: 2014

I didn't plan on getting this. All I wanted was a nifty Arcade Metropolis t-shirt from the label's Bandcamp. For some reason though, they threw this digital download of fifty-six tracks in with the article of clothing I purchased. That's... a lot more Werkstatt Records music than I'm willing to take in. It'd translate to at least three CDs of material, maybe four, and who wants to read about that much amateur efforts at techno, industrial, EBM, and synthwave?

That isn't meant as a slam. Listening to the early portions of this compilation, it's clear Werkstatt and their artists had some growing to do. The best compliment I can give this stuff is that it wouldn't sound out of place as filler on a late '90s Hypnotic/Cleopatra CD, so take that as you will. I get the sense these musicians were more enamoured with creating clever artist names than the actual music they were making: Boogie Vertigo, Azure Defiance, The Psychedelic Dream Vortex, Droid Sector Decay, Avalanche Reverb Prozac, United States Of Atrocity, Moscow Locomotives, DJs On Acid Destroy Commercial Europe, Synthesizer.

One of the few early acts that does leap out with stronger songcraft chops compared to everyone else is, unsurprisingly, Beatbox Machinery; aka: Toxic Razor, the dude who founded Werkstatt. And when Kriistal Ann is added for their duo of Resistance Of Independent Music, it's clear the two will have a lasting impact on the label's future prospects. It's as though Werkstatt's finally found its footing and ready to take it's next step forward - from digital dumping ground to a place where aspiring, talented producers could make a home. Or use as a launching point for a larger career at least.

Okay, it wasn't all at once. Kriistal Ann doesn't make her first appearance until track fifteen, and for many tracks after, it's still shaky ground between improved, interesting synth music and noisy, nonsensical industrial waffle (got the dreaded “TURN THAT SHIT OFF!” while playing it at work). Is it any surprise that as Werkstatt steadily inches towards synthwave, the better the overall product sounds? Or, I dunno, maybe there's folks who prefer the aggro industrial stuff over the chipper, poppier synth music – I don't have enough involvement with the industrial scene to make that informed an opinion on what's represented here. It could be top-tier tuneage for all I know. I'm sure, however, we can all agree that EBM is the fun compromise between these two worlds!

Once The Werkstatt Chronicles passes track thirty, the synthwave really starts taking over, though EBM still gets a few looks in too. Hey, GosT is here! And there's Kriistal Ann's darkwave solo stuff. Ooh, I recognize more of these names: Ghost Patrol, Radio Poltergeist, Dan Terminus, Resist Concept. But yeah, most of my Werkstatt exposure comes after this period of the label's lifespan. T'was an interesting jaunt into their early years, but it isn't the music that lured me into their fold in the first place.

Geometry Combat - Tanz Der Schatten

Werkstatt Recordings: 2014

The appeal of ancient industrial is just how grimy it sounds compared to most music. You get the sense it's a total grass-roots scene, musicians with little technical know-how making use of whatever third-hand gear they could get their hands on. Obviously this isn't always the case – ain't no way Trent Reznor is forced to cheap-out on his studio any more – but like its sister scene punk, industrialists take pride in how under-produced their music comes across.

It does make me wonder, though, whether it's grown ever more difficult to 'keep it real'. For sure it's possible if you use authentic gear from the '70s and '80s, but that shit don't come cheap anymore, and modern versions will always carry some upgraded polish with them, no matter how much gravel you think throwing in the chassis will help. Compounding things is the fact so much music production is done digitally now, with no amount of plug-ins hiding the fact that the music's being made on a computer. Okay, so anything electronic is technically being made on a computer, but you know what I mean – circuit boards with knobs versus DAWs. It just seems to me that EBM dudes, dudettes, and everyone in-between have to work harder than ever to sound authentic, lest they find themselves in the realms of futurepop.

Not to say Geometry Combat is one such chap dealing with such issues, as such. I honestly had little success finding any information about him (I'm assuming He, because it's quite clearly a very masculine voice going on about darkness and hammers and shit), not even a name included with liner notes, Bandcamp write-up, Lord Discogs text, or Facebook blurb. Thus, I'm not sure what his set-up is. I wouldn't be surprised if he's using old-school machines for his EBM beats, but man, hearing how low in the mix these vocals are, I'd almost be more impressed if he's using computer programs to get that sound. Anyone can bellow and snarl into a crappy mic and claim it's being vintage – try doing it with spiffy-new devices and get the same result.

When not pitting the fates of Pythagorean Theorems and Arc/Circumference Ratios against each other, Geometry Combat specializes in a fun blend of EBM and darkwave. We get the aggressive sounds of the former, with lyrics that come off more melodramatic as befitting the latter, titles like Silent God, Darkest Sins, and Deadly Armour Ceremony pretty clear in their intent. A couple pure EBM cuts make their way in the back half (Body Hammer, Striding Command), which is a nice little monotony breaker.

Most tracks are brisk and to the point, as good EBM usually is. The big outlier is a seven-plus minute long 'downtempo' cut called Teeth Of Steel Grasp At The Barriers Of Humanity, which sounds closer to the realms of proper industrial than everything else, sludgy, meandering with growling vocals and crusty guitars. All a bit too pretentious for my liking, though.

Sine Silex - Schachmatt

Werkstatt Recordings: 2016

Anna Michailidou must be the hardest working madame in underground coldwave synth-pop right now. Right, that's an incredibly micro-niche avenue to take residence in, but since diving into Werkstatt Records' catalogue, I've continuously seen her name crop up. Already a member of Resistance Of Independent Music and Paradox Obscur, she's also taken up a solo career as Kriistal Ann, and has added her gothic croon to many other synthwave acts out there, a feature on GosT's Non Paradisi perhaps her greatest exposure yet.

Another is a three-piece act called Factice Factory. These chaps from France and the Alps mostly stick to a strict diet of minimalist coldwave, so Ms. Ann's voice was a natural fit with their aesthetic. Guess Anna liked working with lead singer François Ducarn enough such that they formed their own minimalist synth-pop duo called Sine Silex, a change of pace from the heavier, EBM-leaning sound she typically makes with Toxic Razor.

For some stupid reason, the first duo I drew comparisons with was Miss Kittin & The Hacker. While both make use of a stripped-down synth-pop sound heavily influenced from the early '80s, that's where the similarities end. For one, Mr. Ducarn sings, and Mr. Hacker never uttered a word. Also, while you could say both groups' lyrics carry a certain detachment to them, MK&tH did so in a deadpan, cynical way. I get no such irony from Sine Silex, François and Kriistal performing their music as straight-faced as this can get. I mean, such minimalist music works best when the performers are stripped of emotion as well, but those electroclash sorts always kept a wink and a wry smile while doing so. This are serious cold-synth pop-wave, yo'.

Actually, I'm not sure just how serious Sine Silex are being half the time, on account François and Kriistal don't sing in English all the time, sometimes going French, and perhaps other Euro languages I'm too dumb to detect. For that matter, Ms. Ann's accent is so thick that I don't always understand her anglophone lyrics either. Not that I'm complaining, her gothic voice such a unique attribute among so many synth-poppers, that their content isn't as much a selling point as their delivery. Besides, it's kinda' funny hearing her on bouncier tunes like Operative and Modeliste (a requisite nod to Kraftwerk's The Model) when so much of her work oozes the black phantasmic.

Most of the tunes on Schachmatt play to her strengths though, even if her vocals have more a supporting role to François' lead. There's the slower, melodramatic songs (Antidote, L'Embrun), the brisk EBM-leaning cuts (Ether, Six To Twenty Seconds, Nénuphar), plus tracks that indulge the desolate goth-pop that's right up Kriistal's cobble-stone pathway (Les Nimbes, Rifle, L'Amnésie). It's also all very simple music, only a few synthesizers and sequencers running at a given time. You'd have to be a dedicated fan of this sound to enjoy it, but I find it strangely alluring, like walking a digitized path through an abyssal plain.