Browsing Tag

Alt Electro

Prepare to be torn from passive slumber with Cielo Pordomingo’s orchestral alt-electro feat of world music, Wake Up

Posted on 9 July 2022

Here to tear us from our jaded slumber with her spiritual synthetics is the alt-electro trailblazer, Cielo Pordomingo, with her latest single, Wake Up.

‘Enlivening’ scarcely cuts into the alchemy that the composer, singer, and producer used to reflect her soul in the orchestrally heightened single. It’s Europop meets Depeche Mode via Bond soundtrack with a classical chamber outro; need we say anymore? If we want to do Cielo Pordomingo justice as a lyricist, definitely.

Wake Up is far more than your average cry to people letting their lives pass them by. Pordomingo practically takes you by the hand to guide you through your awakening while addressing the problem of our tendency to waste existence by branding it as just another day. At this point, if she started a cult, I’d jump right into it.

Wake Up is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yarsha exposes the hypocrisy of reality in his harsh electro-pop earworm, Run Coward

Posted on 8 July 2022

The Zurich-based Italian alt-electro originator, Yarsha, has followed his seductively eccentric debut single, Do you wanna dance, with the even more gloriously existentialist alt-electro pop single, Run Coward.

Under anyone else’s orchestration, Run Coward would be a cold and harsh track. Yet, with the inclusion of his personably playful vocals on the Powerman 5000-Esque analog synths, Run Coward doesn’t just hit the rhythmic spot. It tempts some serotonin to spit across the synapses too.

While the haunted synths and nasty electro-industrial discord set the caustic tone to reflect the insidiousness of the rife injustice on our planet that is more akin to the Christian depiction of hell, the cuttingly contemporary lyrics extend the gift of resonant antagonism. We all need more affirmations that the world is messed up beyond rhyme or reason. Especially when they are as infectiously upbeat as Run Coward, and the rest of the world is at work gaslighting us into believing that our fatalism isn’t a sign of sanity.

Here is what Yarsha candidly had to say about his latest release:

“This world is f…ed up. It’s full of hypocrisy on every level. I wrote this song in 2015, mentioning the war in Ukraine when almost nobody knew it was happening. Nobody knows that the Dalai Lama’s son was kidnapped by the Chinese government. Still, it was in many newspapers and tv shows. Assange exposed just the reality and cruelty of facts, and the US is treating him exactly like Putin treats his enemies.

I’m not finger-pointing them; I’m finger-pointing me. I’m the coward. When I see and know all this, what do I do? Nothing. I’m watching Netflix, playing music, and having fun. It’s a struggle to live in such a world: can we do anything to stop this? Or is it better to just run from it and enjoy the good time that pure luck gave us?”

Run Coward was officially released on July 8th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Follow Yarsha on Facebook and Instagram, or check him out on his official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Graffiti Welfare tells his anxious coming of age story in the trippy meditative alt-electro album, Revolving Shores

Posted on 23 June 2022

Revolving Shores is the gravity-defyingly meditative debut album from the up-and-coming artist and producer Graffiti Welfare. After appearing on the airwave in 2018 through his EP, Into the Soul of Space, which has been extensively playlisted & lauded by critics, the Austin-born, Denver-based artist let the world in on his coming of age anxiety.

Regardless of your age, there is ample resonance in the LP that explores the profoundness of loss in context to perceptions of reality. As someone who has only recently lost their mum after a long illness, I’m pretty reasonably qualified to attest to the efficaciously comforting gentle tenacity in the 10-track release.

Revolving Shores gently eases you in through the minimalist melodic opening score, To Be It, which almost rings with neo-classic cinematic atmosphere, then cruises right on into my personal favourite, Just Follow, which reflects the feeling of unravelling as you lose direction.

DejaBlue picks up a little more melancholy through its genius titular metaphor for carbon copy ennui before Good News flirts with elements of coldwave EDM. What is easily the biggest experimental triumph the album, Synesthesia, dips into far more indie territory, with nuances of post-punk in the chilling, stabbing and distorted angular notes. SeaShell as the closing single was an all too efficaciously entrancing way of ensuring that Revolving Shores doesn’t leave you without sticking to your synapses first.

Graffiti Welfare Said

“Revolving Shores evolved from watching my childhood fade into the unknown as grandparents and friends passed away while I was coping with coming-of-age anxiety. By day, I was trying to finish my thesis and escape the clutches of graduate school with my sanity intact.

By night, I wanted to make sense of everything by creating something sincere, unique and tangible. Each track represents a lucid perspective that builds from the last, guiding a quiet meditation towards the unknown and back into waking life. Rinse, float, repeat – cause who knows where you will wake up next?”

Revolving Shores was officially released on June 17th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to Spotify and SoundCloud.

To keep up to date with the latest releases from Graffiti Welfare, follow him on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ireland’s most experimental luminary ReHumanise has unleashed his monolithically surreal love song, Elemental

Posted on 11 June 2022

After a psychedelically soulful introduction to Irish multi-instrumentalist and producer, ReHumanise through his 2020 debut, our eyes and ears have been firmly affixed to the sonic maverick.

In his latest single, Elemental, he stormed in cooler and infinitely more visceral than Editors did when they unleashed Munich; it is a percussive electronic masterpiece with the acoustic snares snapping over the weight of the heavy electro beats. Juxtaposing-ly, every volatile fixture serves to contrast the soulful beckoning of the vocals as they project the canderous outpour of emotion in the celestial love song. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if he had to travel to a parallel universe to write it.

Inspired by the likes of Depeche Mode, Radiohead and The Smiths, any true romantic with an affinity for unpretentiously humanistic experimental music will want to save space on their playlists.

Polished by the Grammy-award-winning mastering engineer, James Auwarter, Elemental is set to take ReHumanise to even greater heights after he released a top 5 hit in Ireland in 2017 under his real name, Damian Brady, and racked up over 90k streams on his seminal single 2020, Hu Man.

Check out Elemental on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bearbot break free in their latest electro-pop single, Loose Leash

Posted on 18 March 2022

The New York electro-pop singer & producer duo, Bearbot is set to unleash their first EP as a reformed outfit. After producing five albums and touring through NYC’s most notorious clubs’ solo, Euna Kho brought onboard Ariana Moline. Based on the standout single from the Canis EP, Loose Leash, her glossy pop vocals were the perfect fit for the cathartic sonic bliss that is curated into arresting hip hop tinted grooving hooks and transcending melodies.

It was a bold and risky move to sample dog barks in with the 80s synthy notes, Thriller-Esque beats and Ariana’s airy yet ardent timbre, but it paid off massively by bringing a new context to this freedom advocating hit.

Loose Leash will officially release on March 18th; you can check it out for yourselves on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Marked Since Day 1 has unleashed his dirty electro-rock earworm, Dirty Little Lips

Posted on 1 January 2022

‘Dirty Little Lips’ is the latest sultry industrial electro pop-rock track from the renowned multimedia artist and model, Marked Since Day 1. By matching the galvanising sex appeal in She Want Revenge, Mindless Self Indulgence and Alec Empire tracks, apathy isn’t an option once the fiery track builds to full momentum.

If Taylor Swift is the lyrical angel that sits on your shoulder, the Chicago hailing alternative artist, Marked Since Day 1 (David Gabriel) is the devil that sits on the other. The macabrely meta lyrics allude to the nefariousness that comes to the surface in modern dating etiquette while never letting the realism slip. The devilishly twisted single hits the spot in every conceivable way.

Dirty Little Lips is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dogjoy takes ‘Control’ in their autonomy embodying feat of alt-electro.

Posted on 12 November 2021

Floridian alt electro-pop duo, Dogjoy, have released their most entrancing single to date with the bit-crushing seminal track, Control. The dance-worthy  hit combines the duo’s love of 808s against distorted synths and lush vocal melodies; it’s a bitter-sweet aural pill that fans of Chemical Brothers, Caribou and Crystal Castles will want on prescription.

With the hypnotically layered vocals emanating empowered autonomy, it’s an intoxicating inhibition-stripping track like no other – imagine Peaches’ sultrier sonic cousin.

Control was officially released on November 11th. It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Late Guest at the Party delivered moody alchemy in their latest alt-electro hit, HUH.

Posted on 8 November 2021

Alt-electronica duo, Late Guest at the Party, is fresh from the release of their sophomore synth-pop album, Classic. Each track is a spacey high-energy dance-worthy hit, but the lead single, HUH, is the perfect introduction to their hyper, moody dance-pop alchemy.

HUH shares a similar sonic palette to Shiny Toy Guns, Policia and Hayloft as it exudes 90s Euro house vibes and teases euphoria through the bass-heavy breakdowns with all of the style and gravitas as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. If anyone has what it takes to top the electronica charts, our money is on Late Guest at the Party.

HUH is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KURO has dropped the antipathic industrial hit of the year with ‘Lividity’.

Posted on 10 October 2021

After a bass-dripping slam of an intro, KURO’s latest single, Lividity, asserts its volatility early in the mix before unravelling around poppy industrial hooks and serpentine antipathic vocals. If you’ve been mourning the downfall of Jimmy Urine recently, you’ll find just as much salacious charisma here.

It has been a while since I’ve had my finger on the pulse in the industrial scene, it took the incandescent talent of KURO to draw me back in with their monolithically fierce guitars and the earworm potential in the magnetically antagonistic vocals. Not only is it an instant hit at surface level, but Lividity also serves a deeper purpose. In their own words. here is how Lividity transpired:

“I wrote Lividity in an attempt to capture the discomfort, rage, and volatility felt by ethnic minorities during the tumultuous events of the BLM riots sparked in the wake of 2020’s events as well as the StopAsianHate movement- which was exacerbated by the racial division sadly spurred on by pandemic.
These traumatic happenings seemed to create a black hole of negativity and distrust in society that enabled many in positions of power to engage in horrific behaviour with little consequence at the expense of the vulnerable. The video highlights this. I and we, as a band, wanted to highlight this, raise awareness for it, and hopefully push to make a positive change that could contribute to the ending of these problems. However, to really do so, we all need to come together, and time will tell with that.”

Industrial music and gripping lyricism don’t often go hand in hand; instead of offering a series of thoughtless reprises with the aid of a rhyming dictionary, KURO digs deep into the macabre to exhibit the veracity of contempt behind this instantly infectious harsh electro-rock hit. Frankly, we’re obsessed.

Lividity is the first single to be released from their upcoming EP, Death by Aesthetic, due for release in October 2021. KURO are also set to join the industrial icon, Grendel, on tour. Tickets are available for purchase via Bandcamp.

Connect with Kuro on Facebook & Instagram.

Stream the official video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Gold Supply take us ‘Completely Underwater’ in their artfully ethereal debut EP.

Posted on 29 September 2021

September saw the debut of The Gold Supply, a collective of ex-major label artists seeking to infringe ambience on the external chaos in the world with their artfully ethereal presence during the pandemic.

Their debut EP, Completely Underwater, reflects the dystopia that may as well be in the water at this point before poetically finding a way to say “mate, same” to everyone who knows how it feels when no sigh is deep enough to take the weight off your lungs.

In the same way that shoegaze icons surrender your soul to the serenity of their soundscapes, the Gold Supply efficaciously leads you to tranquillity through the delicacy of the sparse yet resounding instrumental layers. With a similar sonic palette to Pet Deaths, they’re definitely ones to watch.

Completely Underwater is now available to sink into on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast