A spectacular homage to Katsuhiro Otomo's all-time anime classic, AKIRA, featuring a superb vocal performance by Gavin Rossdale of 90s British grunge rockers, BUSH!
FROM THE PRESS RELEASE: The highly anticipated follow-up to Scandroid’s first two albums is here! The Darkness is Scandroid like you’ve never heard him before, as the artist unleashes his dark side across six brand new tracks. Never content to rest on what he’s already accomplished, Klayton, the mastermind behind the project, has driven his music into uncharted territory on The Darkness and given every song its own distinctive identity. From the old school heavy metal riffs of "Phoenix" to the ominous cybersynth tone of "Red Planet" and "Out of the Darkness," each entry will pull you deeper into Scandroid’s darkly cybernetic world.
In addition to the six original tracks, Scandroid has packed
The Darkness with electrifying remixes from some of the most talented and
innovative artists in and around synthwave today. Even better, this new release
is just the start of Scandroid’s latest creative opus, The Darkness and The
Light. Fans will be able to immerse themselves in the second half, The Light,
in 2019, with a complete full-length release to follow.
The journey through The Darkness and The Light begins right
here.
'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!
Exactly one year ago FUTURE-ROCKER featured this mind-blowing music video from the French promo whiz-kids known collectively as SETH ICKERMAN. Here, we re-present it to you in case you missed it first time around. Then, below, you will see them talking about fundraising for their new project entitled BLOOD MACHINES / TURBO KILLER 2.
( Apologies for not being able to show the no-ads VIMEO version, will post at a later date if terms and conditions change ).
CAN'T GET ENOUGH? WATCH THE CLIP BELOW AND THEN CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR NEXT COLLABORATION VIA KICKSTARTER!
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 ).
/////////////////
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 /////////////////
- 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.
