Synth EP Review: “Retro Summer Dreams” by The Blue Book Project

by Karl Magi

The Blue Book Project’s “Retro Summer Dreams” captures dancing all night, hanging out at the mall and enjoying a day at the beach with '80s vibes. Nicolas Rixon  adds his unique style to the music to create an extremely enjoyable listening experience for me. 

“Mediterranean Wave” bubbles over like washing foam spilling onto white sand as a rhythmic underlayer gives shaping energy to the uniquely tumbling tones before a technologically groovy beat kicks in.

Oscillating tones add sharpness to the flow of sound, capturing a powerful motorboat slicing through blue water with a fresh breeze blowing through the driver’s hair. I feel myself transported to a Mediterranean paradise with each note that falls.

Evoking pastel suits and laid-back beach houses, the melodic pattern sings with pure ’80s joy and metallic cleanliness, adding to the feeling of freshness permeating the atmosphere. A disco vibe fills the underlayer while the brassy notes carry the chilled-out but dynamic melody, painting images of riding an undulating swell in a high-end motorboat.

Tightly wound tones wriggle with a unique sonic signature, interlocking with the bursting beats supporting them as the disco groove returns to shimmy smoothly past. An image of sunlight glinting on azure waters sparkles in my mind as glittering chimes spangle with summer light from a glowing synth. As the main melody returns to capture super-cool sensations, the track comes to an end.

Active, varied percussion moves with a sweep and tangled tones convey powerful desire and consuming passion as “The World Is You” adds a jazzy brass section that erupts above the catchy drum beat. 

Nicolas Rixon’s voice is like caramel, warm and flowing, capturing ardent emotion while the underpinnings drive forward. Harpsichord-like notes tremble along with his sensual performance, capturing all of the desire and fervour spilling out of the words.

The rhythm jams forward as a steady pulse vibrates. The brass section burns with intensity while the vocals spill out with zeal. A catchy horn line blares with positive strength and Nicolas Rixon captures me with his performance while metallic notes glimmer with soft brightness and the rhythm pulses.

The chorus floats out with fiery joy while vibrating tones create urgency above the locked-in rhythm section. Nicolas Rixon’s vocals are full of honey-sweet warmth and trumpeting tones erupt with sunlight before the song ends with joy and need mingling.

Walking down the city streets, our storyteller sees people as shadows. He shuts his eyes and takes a look around, glancing into his heart. He says, “I can’t tell what’s going over me since I saw you last night dancing. Now I know my life came to the point that the world is you.”

On the city streets, “the racing cars seem so still.” As he shuts his eyes and empties his mind, he says he will take her home in his heart. He asks if his feelings are getting through to the song’s subject and if she can hear his message. He adds, “I can feel and breathe it in the air that the world is you.”

In Barcelona, he imagines himself having a fight at the bullring and singing in New York City for the song’s subject. In Paris, he says that he loves the Moulin Rouge, while in London Big Ben marks the passing of time. He continues, “The world is you and you are my world, girl.”

When the song’s subject is crying, she calls on him and, even if “the timing is not so right,” he promises that he will not turn his back on her, though the moment is hard.

To conclude, he says, “People dancing on the other side of a rainbow-coloured disco. I’m alone with you and to my eyes the world is you.”

“Spaghetti Mex” surfs in on a funky disco pulse that undulates with hip-shaking energy, with a fat bassline dancing alongside reverberating percussion. Playful chimes shimmer over the shuffling melody, capturing a sense of fun and the feeling of dancing all night to the trumpeting tones soaring above the groovy foundation.

Shivering with blinding light, the synth is joined by active metallic percussion, creating feelings of motion and a bouncy vibe before the talk box adds a robotic sensation, conveying the image of a futuristic dance floor. As the glowing tones slice through with brassy life, an image of exhilarating partying fills the music before the track closes.

Scintillating notes flash with excitement above energizing percussion as “How Old Are You? (Miko Mission cover)” expresses longing for lost love while a peppy, gleaming synth dances in lustrous lines that rise with uplifting strength.

The low end pumps on as Nicolas Rixon’s voice unfolds with chocolatey smoothness, carrying the emotional tenor of the words. As the steadily pulsing synth oscillates, Nicolas Rixon fills me with a wistfully dreamy feeling above guiding weight. Radiant tones slide playfully as Nicolas Rixon reaches out with his distinctive voice.

Joyful relaxation dances from a lustrous synth as the groove throbs. Tonal pulses expand with luminosity as the underlayers press on. a frolicking chorus skips past easily while the low end intermingles. Brassy notes flash with engaging melodic energy as  Nicolas Rixon’s heartfelt performance moves before the track flows to an end on the happily singing melody.

The narrator reflects nostalgically while struggling with loneliness and an absent lover. The repeated question “How old are you?” symbolizes more than mere age. There are themes of emotional distance, change and the search for meaning. The song captures time’s bittersweet passing and memories that remain vivid despite everything that has faded.

“Aperitivo” is a fun and bubbly summer journey that begins as a throbbing disco beat skips and a nasal-sounding, pulsating synth jumps, while smoothly gliding notes slip underneath. The groove is intense as fiery light twinkles above a steadily tumbling synth pattern. A glistening horn-like  melody moves with dynamism and positivity, creating a feel-good vibe which I enjoy.

As the trumpeting notes ring out, sharp-edged sounds swirl between them and the drums create a solid pulse, funky and smooth, as piano notes shine and chimes glitter. The music’s floor-filling energy is undeniable as a wriggling synth spins with uplifting strength, swirling through the music with irrepressible joy.

 A descending note pattern locks in with the groove and the broadly glowing synth descends with a velvety motion. Now a trembling synth pulses as the piano forms an effervescent melodic pattern before the track ends.