S U R VI V E - RR7349 singles

The band behind the soundtrack to Netflix 'Stranger Things' is releasing a new album on Sept 30th 2016, and have some amazing dark, driving synthy tracks available for listening.






I'll be certain to get their album once it's available on Bandcamp, but I'm hoping for a release of that amazing looking cover art too.



Music that reminds me of the dreams my childhood self had of the distant future: how the past remembers the future has been a preoccupation of mine artistically. I'm happy to see series like Stranger Things give a musical platform to modern acts like SURVIVE for that reason.

Check out the io9 article for more information about their upcoming (US) tour.

A previous 2012 album by the band in full, S U R V I V E - S U R V I V E:

Rise of the Synths - Documentary

The Rise of the Synths, sounding like '50s B-movie that never was is actually an crowd funding effort to by director Ivan Castell to create a documentary about the very music genre I've focused on the past few years: 'Sythwave', 'Retrowave', or just '80s sounding stuff' to some,
 

“... At least for me, it’s a reinterpretation of a retro sound that taps into somewhere in your brain and brings back memories from your childhood,” he told Vehlinggo recently. Basically, he’s saying that what these artists are doing isn’t always retro, or always 80s, but they’re using the pastiche and modern production to evoke particular moods. I tend to agree." [link]

I've written about the topic early on in this blog, mainly because it was something that I never saw articulated anywhere else. It was music that just emerged online without a physical touring or mainstream presence and tapped directly into how I imagined the future would sound as a child in the late 80's and early '90s.

I'm very interested to see what comes of this documentary, particularly given the lineup currently listed:

College, Electric Youth, Maethelvin, Com Truise, Miami Nights 1984, Kristine, Lazerhawk, Mitch Murder, Power Glove, Futurecop!, OGRE, Dance with the Dead, Night Crawler, Vincenzo Salvia, Stellar Dreams, The Midnight, Jordan F, Betamaxx, 80s Stallone, Dynatron, Darkest, Carpenter Brut, Timecop1983, Waveshaper, and MPM Soundtracks.

The whole interview is worth reading, and I'd hope anyone with a love of this musical genre pledges some kind of support to the documentary maker. It would certainly create a nice musical touchstone to show people unfamiliar with this style of music - and to help delineate it from actual 80's synthpop.

 

Mirror Mirror - Raindrops and other synthpop

Sources of Dreamwave

One of the few uses I have for Facebook is to access an RSS feed-like updates to various graphic artists and music groups.

One of the best gateways to what's available in the genre of 80's-esk modern music is "The Future Sound of the Past":
https://www.facebook.com/TheFutureSoundofthePast

It's well worth subscribing to if you're interested in seeing Dreamwave / Space Synth-wave / Electronic Dreams / Gold Funk / and Film Soundtrack posts in your news feed, and less into photos of what people had for dinner.

Synthetix's Top 80's Inspired Synth tracks of 2012

Track listing from Synthetix's post:

Memorex : Video Remix of your memories

Came across this through Boing-Boing.net:   Memorex from Smash TV.

The music is a mix of vintage audio, expertly mixed with modern retrowave/synthwave/chillwave tracks, with found footage from the 1980s/1990s edited to match.

 "The audio provides a perfect accompaniment to the warped and weirdly nostalgic footage, like finding your favorite cassette from childhood after it’s been baking in the sun for 25 years. An authentic audio/visual package, Memorex was designed to look and feel like the real deal. The ultimate VHS tape.
Is it a lost cultural relic, melted to the dash of an '83 Nissan Sentra? Is it a sinister government experiment, designed to brainwash children into becoming consumer slaves?
Is it the pinnacle of blipverts, sent back in time from 20 minutes into the future? Is it the holy grail of unlabeled VHS tapes, tucked away in the back room of an abandoned Blockbuster?
Is it live, or is it Memorex?
We didn't create your childhood, we just organized it for you. How to brainwash an entire generation. OBEY. CONSUME. THIS IS YOUR GOD."

Watching this super-cut presentation pop culture detritus, and knowing that it (subliminally) structured my childhood causes both nostalgia and horror.

Memory Tapes: Walk Me Home 1 & 2

Thanks to the magic of Soundcloud's notification system, I received word today of a new mixed set by Dayve Hawk of Memory Tapes. One of the first artists I actively followed online (from his time with Hail Social, to Weird / Memory Tapes) - he consistently creates excellent music. The Walk Me Home mixes in particular have a vintage, spooky vibe to them.

Walk Me Home 2 by Memory Tapes

Also,  Memory Tapes "Walk Me Home" mix [free download link], was created originally for the excellent ARAWA.fm back in 2009.

http://pitchfork.com/forkcast/13506-walk-me-home/

DJ Blayne Mixtape: Memory (2012)

Memory Mix (2012) by thisstuffiswonderful

DJ Blayne's : Memory 2012 (Mix Tape):
A mix of chillwave, electro-ambient, and electro-synthpop I find emotionally evocative.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD (Free MP3)

1. Aslan Osiris - When Our Moon Falls vs. Tycho - Ascension [DJ B Edit]
2. Apparat - Arcadia (Telefon Tel Aviv Remix)
3. Telefon Tel Aviv - The Birds [DJ B Edit]
4. M83 - I Guess I'm Floating
5. Kevin Shields - Goodbye (Lost In Translation OST)
6. Cool Angels - Don't Feel Like Holding On (Ft. Stef Hodapp) [DJ B edit]
7. Memory Tapes - Run Out
8. Telefon Tel Aviv - Helen of Troy
9. Gypsy & the Cat - Time to Wander (Joan of Arc Remix)
10. DIIV - Follow (Memory Tapes Remix)
11. Eight and a Half - When I was Twenty Nine
12. M83 - Slight Night Shiver
13. Tycho - A Walk

Mix also streaming on Mixcloud:

DJ Blayne - Memory 2012 Mix Tape by Djblayne on Mixcloud

If you like the artists included in this set, buy their music. Some tracks are already available for free (Soundcloud) or for purchase (via Bandcamp). Mixtape created using Adobe Soundbooth and Premier.

-DJ Blayne 
[ blaynescott@gmail.com ]
http://events.dark-ware.org