Browsing Tag

Cinematic Electronica

Delve into the digital abyss with Intonation Effigy’s harbingering journey, Artificial Intelligence

Posted on 6 April 2024

Intonation Effigy’s latest single, ‘Artificial Intelligence‘, composed by Keegan LaBrot, is a dark and harbingering journey into the underbelly of electronica. This cinematically dystopian instrumental release is larger than life in its encapsulation of the ever-lingering threat of AI’s inevitable domination.

The track is a masterclass in creating a disquieting and artfully disconcerting atmosphere. Intonation Effigy’s use of complex and glitchy time signatures is a sonic visualisation of the tumultuous epoch we are entering. The equilibrium between dark, bass-drenched synthetics and light, almost ethereal aesthetics is a testament to Intonation Effigy’s ability to emotionally round out his immersive productions. The track is a journey, not just through sound, but through the emotional landscape of a world grappling with the rise of artificial intelligence.

As the third single from this artfully profound visionary, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ establishes Intonation Effigy as an essential name to follow in the electronica scene. This track is more than a musical composition; it’s a statement, a reflection of our times, and a glimpse into a possible future dominated by AI. For fans of electronica looking for depth, complexity, and emotional resonance, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ by Intonation Effigy is a must-listen.

Artificial Intelligence dropped on March 19th; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Pedro set a cinematically arcane score with ‘Súplicas à Floresta’

Posted on 15 February 2023

Princeton, NJ-residing Portuguese artist and engineering student Pedro Pimenta is here with his dramatically filmic score, Súplicas à Floresta. The scintillating arrangement is just a taste of what is to come from the up-and-coming artist and producer, who takes inspiration from the roads he has travelled in addition to spiritually-centred artists, including Bjork, Arca and La Rosalia.

With the shimmering organ notes drifting above the contrast of the eerily ethereal electronic motifs in the cinematically synthesised soundscape that also pulls you through jarringly immersive orchestral layers, Súplicas à Floresta is an arrestive experimental arrangement with deep reverence for the natural and cultural phenomena it was inspired by. If the score was the soundtrack to a film, it would undoubtedly be a Cannes Film Festival favourite.

Súplicas à Floresta will officially release on February 15th; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Timothy and the Apocalypse set up a new installation of downtempo disenchanted catharsis with his latest trip-hop single, Shadows of the Lost

Posted on 22 December 2022
Timothy and the Apocalypse

Watching the Sydney, Australia producer Timothy and the Apocalypse as he becomes a rare 21st-century success story with his cinematic indie beats that are shifting him ever closer to the million streams mark with his discography has been a sense of contentment in itself.

With soundscapes crafted for the end of the world, which effortlessly gel with your own despondence, the tranquillity within his downtempo trip-hop tracks offers a breeze of disenchanted catharsis. His latest single, Shadows of the Lost, is no exception. The wavy psychedelic aesthetic of Shadows of the Lost touches on the phenomenon of disconnection which is as steady as the beats in severing connections in our isolated age.

As the synthetic vocals drift in at the mid-point mark, as though they have appeared from a black-and-white film, they remind us that the control we believe we have over our lives is nothing but an illusion. Tony Robins may not agree, but given that he’s probably responsible for the clinical burnout and appeal of pyramid schemes for his fans, we’d like to hear him argue with this compellingly chilling exposition of the end days.

Shadows of the Lost will officially release on December 22nd. Pre-save it here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Daylight breaks in the tranquillity of Victor Bomi’s ambient synthscape, Orientkaj Station

Posted on 7 November 2022

After immersing ourselves into his single, Above and Below, there was no forgetting producer Victor Bomi’s signature sound that encompasses soft, warm synths, minimalist rhythm, and intimate international flavour.

His latest standout release, Orientkaj Station, is a tranquil metropolitan exploration which takes you to a new city just as dawn breaks over your fresh surroundings. The wanderlust-driven composition features samples of a metro station around the gently cascading melodies, dark bass notes and ambient breakbeats that swell around the lust for life in a new environment.

It’s a refreshing break from the dystopic soundscapes that are hitting the airwaves in swathes recently. It’s a mellow yet powerful reminder that if you turn off the news, there is ample beauty still out there across the continents.

Orientkaj Station is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Victor Bomi unveiled a spectre of synaesthesia in his latest cinematic synth single, Above and Below

Posted on 28 September 2022

Above and Below is the latest temperately scintillating feat of alt-electronica from the producer Victor Bomi, best known for his collaborations with Universal, Sony and Virgin Records. Now working on his solo work, he’s allowing his autonomy to make strides in his music which is a spectre of synaesthesia.

The supple synth melodies kaleidoscopically create bursts of euphonic energy against the robust rhythms, despite the minimalism. It isn’t every day that you aurally amble across an artist who brings out the softer side of electronica; the Italy, Russia and France descending artist clearly knows how to breed intimacy within his productions that manifest through his love of cinema and synths.

Above and Below was officially released on September 21st; add it to your Spotify playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Michael Kanyongolo – Dreams: Meet Your New Sonic Sandman

Posted on 17 August 2022

With an ethereally dystopic chill that creeps in straight from the intro, the Brooklyn, NY-residing electronic music producer, Michael Kanyongolo’s latest score, Dreams, constructs a biometrically ambient world you can drift into for a multifaceted sensory experience.

By building his tracks from samples, midi instruments and live playing, his sonic signature became one marked in stylistic fluidity, textural juxtapositions, and otherworldly atmosphere.

The fact that he’s still in college should be enough to make Hans Zimmer shiver with competitive fear. Kanyongolo is so much more than your average ambience peddler; he’s got the tenacity of an acclaimed composer in the making.

Dreams is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Time Meddler – Folks Want Blood: The Tranquil Trip-Hop Enigma Returns

Posted on 13 July 2022

If you prefer your trip-hop on the more temperately exotic side, The Time Meddler’s latest orchestration, Folks Want Blood, will happily assist in your sun-bleached transcendence.

The cinematic Timothy and the Apocalypse Remix tears away from the electronica mould, before boldly roaming into avant-garde textures, kaleidoscopic tones and a sense of intrinsic soul that brings you right into the tranquil heart of the mix.

You scarcely need the producer’s bio to tell you that he’s been making beats since the 90s. It is written within the mellifluous leftfield gravitas that throws right back to that era.

The Timothy and the Apocalypse Remix of Folks Want Blood is now available to stream via Spotify. Hit play; the cathartic payoff is instantaneous.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Franz Kirmann and Roberto Grosso have released their collaborative electronica mix ‘Saudade’

Posted on 23 March 2021

Electronica luminaries Franz Kirmann and Roberto Grosso combined their signature sounds in their latest release, ‘Saudade’. The collaborative mix unravels through pulsating beats, glassy synths, and flurries of intricate notes that almost allow Saudade to tease neoclassic properties. But at its core, Saudade boasts a tribalistic drive that you’ll want to strap yourselves in for.

The quiescent release allows the styles of Nils Frahm and Thom York to meet in the modular-synth-middle, to entrancing effect. If anything can strip away lockdown anxiety and angst, it’s Saudade.

Saudade is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Wait has released their cinematic Industrial Alt Rock debut ‘Falling Away’

Posted on 15 December 2020
https://thewait88.bandcamp.com/releases

‘Falling Away’ is the cinematically plaintive debut single from the Scotland-hailing, London-based Alternative artist, The Wait, if any track has the rhythmic capacity to lead you down an aural rabbit and offer you kaleidoscopically psychotropic experience, it’s this one.

With artists such as Frightened Rabbit, Hans Zimmer and Trent Reznor all influencing The Wait’s transfixing electronically-crafted sound, alchemy was always going to spill from the soundscape. Many artists may have attempted to assimilate Hans Zimmer’s legendary works, but The Wait chose to take the composer’s sound and use it as the perfect precipice to jump off into a darkly creative masterpiece. I don’t use the term ‘masterpiece’ lightly.

Falling Away is available to stream and download on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Find the catharsis in Ric Santos quiescently evocative ambient electronica track ‘Drift’

Posted on 6 December 2020

NYC Electronic artist and producer, Ric Santos, set his own bar exceptionally high with ‘In the Lead Works with the Beast’ which we had the pleasure of reviewing last year, but once again, he’s blown us away with his profound ability to make electronic arrangements bleed pure emotion.

His latest cinematic score, ‘Drift’ is just one of the standout tracks to feature on their forthcoming EP which is due for release in January 2021. After hearing the quiescently evocative alchemy in Drift, it is safe to say that we’re already eager to hear the rest.

The experimentally ambient instrumental mix would be perfectly placed in an OST to aurally narrate fragility experienced in an aftermath. Whether that be an epic battle or an intense interpersonal upheaval. It’s the calm after the storm, a space to breathe, a time to dare to be optimistic, a soundscape to simply exist within; and a stunning one at that.

You can check out Drift via Spotify. Keep up to date with future releases via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast