CODE ELEKTRO: CALL OF THE WIRED

'I have always wanted to score a movie. But not just any movie – it will have to fit into the Code Elektro universe.'

Here we present an assortment of tracks from synthwave maestro CODE ELEKTRO's epic recent album, WOLF, as well as from his previous opus, SUPERSTRINGS. PLUS! Scroll down for the exclusive new interview, and merchandise links.

Future-Rocker: First of all, there seems a definite transition in the themes as well as the music. Tell us about this 'WOLF' concept. Are you hiker, or a conservationist? Or do you just like Scandinavia?!

‘Wolf’ is a concept album. The album is about how a wolf can be dangerous - but also free. Furthermore, there’s a theme of travel throughout the album. Starting in the wolf den and the initiation ritual - and then moving though the landscape, the night and the city. And the album ends with a transition to something new. I wanted the sounds to have a more human or ”organic” feel. Not as clean as my previous album, ”Superstrings”. And I play around a little more with the dynamics.

I am sensing an actual storyline that plays in your head. Would you like to write movies too, or just score them?

It would be great to work with some kind of story and combining it with my music. I have always wanted to score a movie. But not just any movie – it will have to fit into the Code Elektro universe.

On the new album, you have the customary atmospherics that are underscored by your trademark pulsing synths, but I am detecting a bit of a rock vibe developing, with some crunching riffs, and very tasteful 80s-style guitar shredding to add to the dynamics, as well as loud drums. Would you be happy if the 'Classic Rock', AOR, or Prog guys started following you?

I love rock music and I started out playing bass in rock bands as a young kid. So yes!

Is the rock aspect something you'd like to develop? Maybe do a more '80s Transformers'-style sonic assault? ( I emphasize 80s not current Transformers, because the soundtrack album to the animated movie kicked ass! )

Maybe…it can be difficult to plan these things for me. Often they just happen. But from my perspective ‘Wolf’ is a little closer to my current vision of Code Elektro. A third album would probably be different too.

I can hear hints of human voices occasionally in the mix...would you ever add a vocalist? Maybe for an album's finale?

Vocals would be great! Maybe later… [ cont'd... ]

[ Photo by Mads Dam ]

Tell us about being a sound designer. Are you the guy who has to invent sounds for movies or adverts?

Yes. That’s pretty much what I have been doing for the last 10 years. It’s very different from creating music as an artist…but both are fun experiences.

Describe teaching at the Conservatory. Are you inspired by your students? ( I say that because I get very fired-up when i mentor art students ).

That’s the same for me. I love teaching. I learn at least as much as the students…and I like to contribute to the audio community. Back when I started out I almost had to invent everything myself.

If you were asked to join a band, would you? Name some bands you'd love to work with. 

Tough question. There’s a lot of great bands out there. But at some point in the future I would like to co-write with other people. I’m planning something – but I can’t talk so much about it yet.

 What do you think of the 'SynthWave' movement? It seems like every day there's a new outfit popping up on Twitter, with a chrome logo, some pink neon, and some palm trees!

It’s great to see the rise of the Synthwave scene – and there’s a lot of talented artists out there. A lot of them are great at inventing something new and not just repeating the past…which I think is important.

Recommend some albums by other artists ( any genre ) that you've been listening to, lately.

The Daft Punk TRON soundtrack has a revival with me at the moment. And for some reason I’ve been listening a lot to Black Sabbath the last week or so.

You can't beat listening to Birmingham's finest - thanks for talking to Future-Rocker!

And as we promised, here's a Code Elektro's sampler to try. Enjoy!

You want the CODE ELEKTRO LIMITED EDITION CASSETTE, or the super-cool vinyls? Click here!

And finally, a few words from the Maestro...

'TURBO KILLER': STUNNING NEW VIDEO FROM CARPENTER BRUT !!

Like that? - See also:

CODE ELEKTRO

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW

ANTHONY SCOTT BURNS 'TRON' FAN VIDEO

SETH ICKERMAN STUDIO

and SCROLL DOWN OUR MIXTAPE PAGE FOR MORE ( NSFW! ) CARPENTER BRUT!

ELECTRIC DREAMER: SOUNDTRACK TO A FUTURE PAST WITH CODE ELEKTRO!

William Gibson's short story 'The Gernsback Continuum' brilliantly encapsulated what has become common currency in the realm of science fiction and the popular imagination: The idea of a 'future that didn't happen'. In that instance, it recalled the 'art deco futuroids' of a 1920s/30s-envisioned future, like the ones written about in pulp mags such as Thrilling Wonder Stories and Astounding Tales. 

Gibson was again ahead of the curve, because now that we are actually living in a science fiction future, for those creatives who find their own milieu just a tad too dull, they can use their talents to evoke these more romantic 'lost' visions, either in books, films, and more recently, music. Possibly the exemplar of this would be film director Panos Cosmatos ( interviewed here in this blog a while back ), as his visually-stunning film Beyond The Black Rainbow not only looked like a straight-to-VHS sci-fi chiller, but utilized the Sinoia Caves soundtrack to force the effect of a temporal dislocation upon the bewildered viewer.

Alongside Sinoia Caves, other artists such as Pilotpriest, and even the film director and synth maestro John Carpenter himself, have released quasi-soundtrack albums of neon-soaked, rainy eighties fantasias. 
So, with this concept now firmly entrenched in pop culture, Future-Rocker talks to Danish newcomer, Martin Ahm Nielsen - aka CODE ELEKTRO - about his music, and the need to go 'back to the future'. We also debut Cyber Dreams, his stunning promo video, too.

So Martin, who - or what - is 'Code Elektro'..?

Code Elektro is my electronica “band” where I’m the only member. The genre is a mix of synthwave and modern electronica. This year I've released my first album with ten tracks on vinyl, download and stream. The title is Superstrings. And it has been really well received. I didn’t know what to expect before the release, because I started from absolutely nothing. But the reviews have been great – and people from all over the world tell me they like it.

How would you describe your music - futuristic or retro-futuristic?

I would say mainly futuristic. There’s some retro elements, but for the main part, I try to create music that sounds like it’s new. However, I love the synthwave scene and I think there’s a lot of talented artists out there – and it’s great to see how it’s slowly getting more and more attention.

Clearly, your music is very cinematic - do you have visuals in your head when you compose?

Yes. I do that a lot. I find that having a movie or a certain atmosphere in my head can help me create. And I think that you can hear that in my music.

What instruments / technology do you use?

My main digital audio workstation is Cubase Pro 8 on the Mac. It’s the program you record in on your computer, similar to Garage Band and Protools. And for plugins I use U-he, Omnisphere, Retrologue, Padshop, Kontakt, TAL-U-NO-LX and all the synths from Arturia. I also have a few hardware synths – I used the Moog Sub Phatty the most.

What are your favourite albums, books or movies? From your music I can detect certain reference points. 

If I did an all-round science fiction Top 5 list it would be something like this:

1.    The Incal (Jodorowsky/Moebius)

2.    Blade Runner / Vangelis

3.    The Matrix (the first one)

4.    TRON: Legacy / Daft Punk

5.    Neuromancer (William Gibson)

Honorary mentions would have to go to John Carpenter, Alien, Terminator 1+2, Moon, The 5^th Element, Stargate, Philip K Dick, TRON, Starship Troopers, The Cyann Saga, Trent Reznor, Jean Michel Jarre, Deus Ex and many more...

So, given all those influences, what movie would you love to do the soundtrack to?

Blade Runner and TRON: Legacy have fantastic scores – and I would love to have worked on them. But they're awesome because of Vangelis and Daft Punk…and I think they did a great job because they are who they are. Also the movie Beyond the Black Rainbow has an incredible synth score. And of course ( Swedish martial arts and eighties homage movie ) Kung Fury!

What do you see Code Elektro doing in the future? Concerts, movie scores, CD releases..?

Right now there’s a lot of work in promoting the album and the new music video…also I’m sending out vinyl all the time! Which is great fun…but yes…there’s a few new plans taking form. Too early to say more about it..!

Sounds interesting! Until then, check out CODE ELEKTRO's beautiful new promo video:

Web: www.codeelektro.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/codeelektro

Twitter: www.twitter.com/CodeElektro

Instagram: www.instagram.com/code_elektro

SUMMER TUNES feat. BURIAL, BROKEN BELLS, SIINAI, FHLOSTON PARADIGM, LONE, PORTER ROBINSON

All you need for a futurist summer soundtrack!

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'DEALER' - a short movie featuring BURIAL's new track RIVAL DEALER

Dir: BEN DAWKINS

( music starts at 00:55 )

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FHLOSTON PARADIGM - THE PHOENIX - 10-minute album mix ( Visuals: Mike Todd )





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...OR IF YOU'D LIKE TO ROCK-OUT TO BRAND-NEW BLUE STAHLI, ORGY PLUS EISBRECHER, GO HERE

...and for May's Summer Tunes, featuring the ultra-hard sounds of Die Antwoord, Skrillex, and Rachel Aspe
go HERE


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Compiled by Alexi K Artist, with additional contributions from Andy @LeftForDeadshop

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW - A TALK WITH DIRECTOR PANOS COSMATOS

'It's been gratifying having the movie seen by more and more people who are attuned to its very particular frequency'

For those of you who feel that thoughtful, experimental - and even stylish - Science Fiction movies died with the advent of Star Wars and the proliferation of mindless summer blockbusters, FUTURE-ROCKER presents you with the antidote: The hallucinogenic world of Panos Cosmatos' BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW.

Set in the bold and futuristic year of 1983, the film features a young woman ( Eva Allan ), who finds herself trapped in an experimental lab watched over by the sinister Dr. Barry Nyle, played by the superbly twitchy Michael Rogers ( possibly channelling ubiquitous 80s genre star David Warner ). The film's exceptionally druggy atmospherics are augmented by the throbbing chromatic lighting and pulsing synth tracks of 80s-revivalists Sinoia Caves. Even the DVD cover art is styled in faux-VHS packaging. Beyond The Black Rainbow caused quite a stir at Cannes, and immediately got picked up for North American release by Magnet Films, purveyors of edgy horror, sci-fi and Asian cinema. FUTURE-ROCKER talked to director, Panos Cosmatos, currently in-between projects.

 - Panos, the film's attention to detail, regarding the feel of pre-Star Wars film-making, is astonishing. You are obviously deeply fascinated by this whole period.

My mother Birgitta Ljungberg was a huge inspiration to me. She was an avant garde sculptor with a very open and experimental imagination. No matter what crazy music I was into that I'd play for her, she would always listen intently and comment thoughtfully on it. She always encouraged me creatively, and even though she passed away many years ago, she is still an influence. My father taught me about film history. He had an impressive Betamax collection, mostly recorded from HBO, Showtime and Z Channel, that exposed me to every era and style of film-making. Through general exposure to him, and by watching him work, I learned about the film industry. I gleaned a lot from overhearing his phone conversations with various producers and executives.  Even though at home he was a very sentimental man, at work he was a hardened realist.

- Talking about your dad ( blockbuster film-maker John Cosmatos ), he directed Rambo First Blood II, a seismic cultural hit that bisected the 80's, so how did that huge mainstream success impact on your family, and on you as a youngster?

It was astounding, and somewhat frightening, to watch the Rambo phenomenon ripple across the cultural landscape. On a personal level it had the effect of exacerbating my already extremely shy nature. Since I grew up in Canada, away from Hollywood where such a thing was more commonplace, it made me feel incredibly self-conscious. It's interesting to look back now and see it all with the clarity of hindsight.

- BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW is definitely the vision of a Betamax / VHS obsessive, as if you filtered the Andromeda Strain, Kubrick, Cronenberg, Colossus The Forbin Project... you seem to have nailed those aesthetics. Explain why you wanted to tell the story in that way.

In many ways the film was an experiment. An attempt to take an abstract idea and make it crystalline. I wanted to try and capture my memory of how a film felt, seeing it for the first time at a young age, on late night cable television or a random tape. The story grew out of that notion, and as a result it ended up reflecting the landscape of the era in more ways than just aesthetically.

- How do you feel it was received - by both critics and audiences?

When we first started showing the movie, it felt like people were perceiving it as a straight sci-fi genre piece, and didn't quite now how to take it in. It wasn't till we showed it in New York City, that the influence of experimental and underground film was picked up on. It's been gratifying having the movie seen by more and more people who are attuned to its very particular frequency.

- The film is such a strong stylistic statement, that as a viewer, I'm left wondering ''what's next?'' - I hear the follow-up is a 'bit bigger', so will it have the same art direction and style, or have you gotten that out of your system?

There's stylistic and tonal aspects of Black Rainbow that I'd like to continue to explore, but I'm not interested in making the same thing twice. Each idea is its own organism and that has to be nurtured for it to flourish. Movies are an unlimited dreamscape, and it feels like the medium has barely scratched the surface of what it's capable of.

- Is sci-fi / horror your main interest, or do you ultimately want to try other genres?

Various forms of science fiction, including sci-fi horror, were my favorite genre for most of my life, but recently my obsessions have shifted more towards horror. In a way horror is the purest genre there is, and it's incredibly flexible, expressive and diverse. I love genre cinema and feel inclined to dedicate my life to trying to contribute to it. When you love something, it's almost a moral imperative to do so. Horror and science fiction have always been ghetto genres, and that's one of the things I love about them. I feel at home in the cultural ghetto.

- Finally, who would you most like to work with?

I'd most like to continue working with people who are creative.

'In a way horror is the purest genre there is, and it's incredibly flexible, expressive and diverse'
- Panos Cosmatos

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BONUS FEATURE! - Panos recommends his favourite cult classics!

- Features, The Fly 2, Ben Hur, Black Rain & Motley Crue - 

Panos Cosmatos' Homepage

SYNTH YOU'VE BEEN GONE: ANTHONY SCOTT BURNS - PILOTPRIEST

Anthony is a movie director ( see his work with TENDRIL, in the recent MONOBLOG, and our BONUS FEATURE, below ), as well as an accomplished musician, and as you may have gathered, since childhood he has been immersed in the polished-chrome ambience of 1980's films and soundtracks.

His beautiful debut album PILOTPRIEST - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK is available to buy now, and is due out on vinyl shortly. You can hear the whole album on FUTURE-ROCKER right here, while we chat with Anthony:

- How long have you been playing? Has the synth always been your instrument?

I’ve been playing for 20 years. I play drums, bass, guitar,and keys. I started with synth. 

I’ve always been into this sound ever since I was 5. I loved the way it was so odd, yet popular. I have been writing this style since I started... I’m lucky it came back into style.

- Explain the titles - you wrote all the music, so they're not cover versions. Did you watch the films first, then write the music?

I just titled the tracks based on the film from my childhood that the song made me feel the most. ( Cont'd ).

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PILOTPRIEST - TOP THREES

ALBUMS 

3. Lou Reed – Transformer

2. Jeff Wayne – War Of The Worlds

1. Michael Jackson – Thriller

SOUNDTRACKS

3. Repo Man – Various

2. The Thing – Ennio Morricone

1. Bladerunner – Vangelis

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- Any scoops on the collaboration with artist / designer Ash Thorp?

We are developing numerous films right now... All different types of genre stories. We are really trying to bring back the realism of character, that was in stories put to film before the studios got scared of new untested ideas.

- Apart from that, what's next from you?

I’m always working on new music, and I’m trying to develop the next album as an oculus rift experience [ - meaning a head-mounted, high-field-of-view virtual reality device ].

I'm mostly focusing on directing... This month I’m directing an episode of a new horror anthology series.

Pilotpriest - Bodydouble (Phace Remix) / Neodigital 001