Browsing Tag

Alt Electro

Eearroll fired up his flow in his synthesis of funk, synth pop and hip-hop, ‘Make Up Your Mind’

Posted on 27 April 2026

You can’t help but admire the bold experimentalism of Eearroll and the fearlessness with which he synthesises the funk-dripping aesthetics of Daft Punk, big hip-hop beats, even bigger bars, and dark 80s synth pop nostalgia in his recently released standout single, Make Up Your Mind.

The old school analogue synth line reverberations are kicked into overdrive, dousing the arrangement in visceral sparks of electricity; short of taking a toaster bath, there’s not much that comes close to this slick, unequivocally hard-hitter of a genre-fusion triumph. It’s an urban alt-electro tour de force that locks you into the fired-up flow of Eearroll, a Houston-based seventeen-year-old high school senior who keeps his creativity 100% DIY.

He’s been cutting his teeth and honing his signature sound since age 13; by 14, he stepped into the role of producer to take full control over his output. His work proves that age serves as a minor detail when creating massive, room-filling sound that connects instantly with listeners. Eearroll makes an inarguable case of how ingenuity easily overpowers the traditional notion of maturity.

Make Up Your Mind is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast.

Robert Reeve unfurled fantasia through instrumental groove in ‘Overtone’

Posted on 11 November 2025

With his jazz-esque freeform expressionist style, the electronica artist and producer Robert Reeve has coined his own genre, ‘instrumental groove music’, but even with that label, it’s only a teaser of what you can expect from his quasi-avant-garde compositions. In his latest single, Overtone, he fuses cinematically lush textures with Chiptune-style polyphonic synths and keys, flipping the rhythmic script with off-kilter time signatures that crack open a whole new mode of aural exploration.

Overtone doesn’t try to fit into any established mould. It dances to its own circuitry. It’s an invitation to sink into infinite sonic possibilities, built on imagination rather than pretence. Cymbals crash around radiant flurries of synths. Piano chord progressions unfold like shifting scenery in an 80s dream sequence. There’s a playfulness that never veers into parody, and a sharpness behind the eccentricity that signals the decades of sonic graft Reeve has put in.

The West Midlands-based artist first fell in love with electronic music through the ‘cheesy’ dance-pop of the 90s, from Haddaway to Robert Miles, before discovering darker corners with The Prodigy and Pop Will Eat Itself. After a stint of bedroom DJing, Reeve threw himself into formal study and drumming, leading to gigs, sessions, and collaborative projects across the country.

From supporting The Libertines to recording with Tony ‘Doggen’ Foster, he eventually shifted focus to teaching and opened The Rockin Rooms. Years later, spurred by the stillness of lockdown, he returned to his own experimentation, where his fascination with new toys and software fuelled a fresh creative wave. Overtone is the most potent outcome yet.

Overtone is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify. 
Review by Amelia Vandergast

Scuzzy Spoken Word Post-Punk Soaked into Alt-Electro Funk Salvation in Hük’s ‘ I Saw the Light’

Posted on 12 September 2025
Hük

With Hük’s latest single, I Saw the Light, the floodgates open on scuzzily debauched alt-electro that carries more funk than a men’s locker room after a spin class. The unmistakable snap of a Manchester accent slices sardonically through synths engineered for the new space age, as I Saw the Light steers murky disco grooves deep into Half-Man Half-Biscuit-style post-punk territory. It’s the sort of track that will have you wondering if Manchester’s own poet laureate has swapped verse for spoken word sermons, as bleakly thematic imagery spills through every menaced syllable.

Instrumentally, Hük masterfully take sounds that would register as a novelty in other hands and rework them into a work of ironic, brain-bending satisfaction. There’s no need to test your IQ in the future, just make sure I Saw the Light sits proudly on your playlists. The four-piece, comprised of Rob Bennett (vocals, guitar, occasional theremin), Jo Wadeson (bass, vocals), John McElroy (synths & samplers), and Paul Gunter (drums), have made a home for themselves in Brighton, but the North runs thick through their sound and attitude. Born as a studio project and now a full live band, Hük prove with this release that post-punk electro funk is alive, bristling, and always smarter than it looks.

I Saw the Light is now available on all major streaming platforms. Find your preferred way to listen via the artist’s official website. 
Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Mavi Veloso Queered the Pulse of the Club Scene ith ‘DLites’

Posted on 12 June 2025

Mavi Veloso smeared the club scene in erotic self-reclamation with DLites, taken from the seminal EP Her Blossoming Delights. After a glitchy intro that shakes you right out of your comfort zone, the dancefloor-ready revelation of mind-altering mantras versed through bilingual vocals starts to take hold around the experimental time signatures that ensnare you in the volatile rhythms.

Nothing is safe in DLites, and the innovative siren made that so much more than a design flaw. It’s a thematic device developed to disjoint the dancefloor as she embraces the cultivated chaos of a production that keeps the momentum pulsing through beats sharp enough to make trip-hop rhythms seem on an even keel.

As an anthem of liberation, DLites sensually caresses all the right spots while ticking every box expected from a voice as viscerally ungovernable and ideologically potent as Mavi Veloso. The club aesthetics become entangled with deeper cartographies of transfeminine desire and resistance, conjuring a mythos rooted in personal power and mythic decadence as DLites unravels.

Pulling threads of influence from Brazilian trans icon Cláudia Wonder and reworking her immersive performance art project Her Delights into a sonic manifesto, the Netherlands-based Brazilian polymath made DLites a space for both radical disorientation and rooted liberation. From the deconstructed vocals to the layered glitches and baile funk ruptures, Veloso makes you question where your body begins and the beat ends.

DLites is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

XIANNE-XI Laced the Airwaves with a Fever-Drenched Electronica Fix With ‘In the Mix’

Posted on 8 May 2025

XIANNE-XI proved that electronica doesn’t need to pander to passivity with In the Mix—a darkly hypnotic, sci-fi-adjacent alt-electronica fever dream that cranks up the temperature with a bassline that prowls through the shimmering textures until the spiritually transcendent non-lexical vocal lines enter the mix and pull you away from the mechanised void. With drips of funk for good measure and eerie stabbing synth lines adding a touch of avant-garde, which electronica is rarely caressed by, few producers on the airwaves can deliver what XIANNE-XI is capable of.

The grooves they alchemise are kryptonite to the rhythmic pulses. If John Carpenter was more interested in crafting mixes for late-night DJ sets instead of horror scores and took a few cues from Django Django, his work would resound in the same decadently delicious vein as XIANNE-XI’s In the Mix.

Rooted in Maryland and rising from a place of war-born trauma, faith, and poetic purpose, XIANNE-XI doesn’t just produce tracks—she builds altars. Her work fuses conscious healing with rhythmic release, positioning her sound somewhere between the sacred and the cinematic. As a mixed indigenous producer, songwriter, poet, and mother, she pushes sonic boundaries with a beat-maker’s intuition and a visionary’s clarity. Every bar, vocal layer, and synth stab in In the Mix channels her unwavering commitment to creating space for those caught in the crossfire of mental health and generational anguish.

In the Mix is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Soundcloud.


Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spyndycyt existentially unravelled over a four-to-the-floor Avant-Garde beat in ‘I Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore’

Posted on 12 October 2024

Spyndycyt’s latest single, ‘I Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore,’ amps up the sonic signature scribed through his prior releases, giving the electrifying track a pulse of EBM while keeping true to his erratically eccentric vocal style as he unravels over a narrative of existentialism and frayed with chaos strobing synth lines.

As quirky and kinetically rhythmic as Neuroticfish and The Gothsicles, as experimental as, well, it’s pretty hard to draw a comparison in that domain, this latest single from Spyndycyt proves how succinctly he can command a four-to-the-floor beat that injects symphonic elements of the 90s rave scene.

It’s a broadsiding tour de force that is undoubtedly as effective at altering your brain chemistry as electroshock therapy. Bite down on this exploration of mistrust, betrayal, and the crushing, ever-growing suspicion that all your deepest and unspoken fears are true.

Contrasting the dark thematic undercurrents of being a terminal disappointment, the solo artist ensures that I Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore oscillates through euphorically rhythmic hedonism to sugar the pill you will want to swallow time and time again.

I Don’t Wanna Do This Anymore is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ride the synth waves in Dry’s latest alt-electro hit, DON’T GO

Posted on 24 September 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j-Od2ZN7wg

Dry finessed the future of alt-electro with his latest single, DON’T GO. With the synths delivering a unique flavour of cybernetic hyper-pop-adjacent funk into the adrenalized installation of retro-futurism, it is impossible not to get caught up in the kinetic hype of the genre-bending track.

The single’s foundation is laid with a robust bassline that pulsates through the melody, offering a deep, resonant contrast to the sharp clarity of vintage analogue synths. These elements combine to craft a backdrop that is rich in texture and brimming with infectious energy. The breakbeats act as a homage to the classic eras of hip-hop and Drum and Bass, infused with a modern twist that keeps the listener locked in and moving.

Adding complexity to this already dynamic mix, Dry’s vocals, autotuned to the edge of synthetic distortion, serve as a bold statement on the artificiality of modern pop. This choice is a clever nod to the genre’s roots in electronic manipulation, pushing the boundaries of vocal treatment into the realm of the experimental.

Each beat in ‘DON’T GO’ reflects a deep appreciation of Dry’s influences—from the intricate jazz time signatures that defy conventional expectations to the funk-infused grooves reminiscent of Jamiroquai and Steely Dan.

Stream DON’T GO on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mild Horses unleashed avant-garde chaos in his genre-defying electronica release, Eye of the Behemoth

Posted on 25 April 2024
Eye Of The Behemoth by Mild Horses

Mild Horses, the experimental brainchild of Matthew Leuw, previously known for his roles in various underground bands, including Norwich’s Crest and Brighton’s Coin-op, has returned with ‘Eye of the Behemoth’.

The single seizes the listener with its lo-fi synth melodies grounded on a solid backbeat, before erupting into a drum n bass rhythmic firestorm. Not merely content to rest here, it pushes the boundaries further with sharp horn stabs, marking a bold foray into avant-garde territory. As the track progresses, the intense energy momentarily retreats into more subdued, jazzy grooves that infuse the piece with psychedelic tranquillity, setting the stage for a climactic resurgence. The finale of this instrumental odyssey is a masterclass in musical composition—returning full circle with a powerful beat that perfectly encapsulates the track’s dynamic range.

‘Eye of the Behemoth’ is not just another experimental track; it is a statement of artistic integrity from Mild Horses. This single does exactly what it promises—immersing its audience in an artfully crafted storm of sound that resonates long after the last note fades. It’s an assertive piece that boldly declares Mild Horses’ niche in the eclectic landscape of contemporary music. For fans of genre-defying soundscapes, this release is an essential experience, offering both challenge and reward in its complex layers.

Stream and purchase Eye of the Behemoth ahead of its official release date of May 10th on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ari Khan warned of ‘The Art of Seduction’ in her experimentally meta electro-pop hit

Posted on 13 April 2024
Ari Khan

Inspired by the Robert Greene book, The Art of Seduction, the experimental pop artist and bedroom producer, Ari Khan, mused her latest single, which shares the same title and gives the mind’s perspective under the influence of passionate persuasion. The artfully disorientating drunk on love production efficaciously exposits how control is relinquished and our grip on material reality slips when we surrender to the lust-licked designs of another.

“I wrote this song when I was home (in Alaska) over the holidays because I had recently read the Robert Greene book and realized a certain ex of mine had followed it like an instruction manual. This same ex texted me on Christmas Eve trying to pull me back in. I wrote the first verse right after receiving his text, the lyrics are ‘Regrets, you have none. that’s just a card you play, to see if I am done.’ It was all so obvious to me from a distance. But I remembered how blinded I was when we first met. I was broke and trying to make it in LA, I was in a very vulnerable position. He promised me the world and built up all these fantasies.”

As the soundscape evolves and allows you to fall down the rabbit hole of Ari Khan’s hypnotic artistry, her lush vocals keep the dynamic pace, demurely arcane in one breath, dominantly ensnaring in the next. The vocal progressions are as mind-bending as the breakbeats, especially when the cybernetic distortions confluence the vocal melodies with the genre-fluid instrumental alchemy.

The Alaska-born artist with Iranian and Irish roots can attribute much of her distinctive sonic signature to her unconventional artistic journey, which took her from studying musical theatre in NYC to studying EDM production in LA. Yet, it is her determination to allow energy to take the lead and her complete disregard for genre constraints which sees her music resound with exhilaratingly infectious flair.

The Art of Seduction will be available to stream on all major platforms from April 12th via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Face the wrath of Moose Wrench’s synthesised surrealism through their latest single, Ginnel Dick

Posted on 18 December 2023
Not Dead Yet by Moose Wrench

Moose Wrench, a Leeds-based alternative outfit, propelled us into a vortex of macabre synthetics with their latest single, Ginnel Dick, from their debut album, Not Dead Yet. This track is an audacious escapade into the realms of electro-cyberpunk, infused with a Lynchian nightmare aesthetic and Kafkaesque surrealism. The song is a cacophony of genre-bending sounds that merge to form a unique auditory experience, making Moose Wrench a standout in the “dad-bod alt-core” scene, which they created because no other genre pigeon-hole is wide enough for the sheer insanity that ensues once you hit play.

After an 80s horror-adjacent intro, the single opens with a punchy, rolling beat reminiscent of Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, setting the tone for what is to unfold. As the track progresses, it spills over into a psychedelically dark atmosphere, transforming the listening experience into something akin to a séance rather than a mere song. The symphonic synthscape towards the outro echoes the dramatic flair of a Cradle of Filth release, adding an operatic depth to the already rich sonic tapestry.

It’s a masterfully twisted orchestration that mocks conventional structures and sounds and is a testament to the trio’s ability to confront and creatively express life’s annoyances, from poor driving to the existential dread of mid-life. It is a must-listen for those seeking a fresh, unconventional sound.

Ginnel Dick will debut across all major streaming platforms on December 18th; in the run-up to the official release, purchase the single on Bandcamp.  

Review by Amelia Vandergast