DAWNRAZER - Tokyo After Dark

Written by KIZUNAUT

In an age where almost everyone is eager to push their content on social media, finding exceptional music made by people with minimal internet presence is always a genuine pleasant surprise. Describing themselves as “Dark synth from Tokyo” on their Bandcamp page and with little else information to be found anywhere, DAWNRAZER is such a surprise. 

Tokyo Dark is the project’s debut album. Their earlier output consists of the short EPs, Credo and Crisis (the latter is only on Bandcamp for whatever reason)  and the curious 48-minute single-track release “Night in MegaTokyo” (also only on Bandcamp) that contains some of the tracks from the Tokyo Dark album. All of this has been published within 2020, so Dawnrazer has been hard at work making music in midst of the pandemic. Judging by the quality of their output, this however isn’t their first stab at making music. 

Describing the album as “Hard and dark music for cyberpunks” on Bandcamp and coming with a Ghost in the Shell influenced album cover, Tokyo Dark clearly displays it’s influences and intentions. The album does indeed deliver in hard and dark cyberpunk-tinted music, but listeners will also find more atmospheric pieces among the more beat-driven pieces in the album. 

The overall style is very synthetic, futuristic and in your face. The production is mostly excellent: the tracks are loud, strong and full, but not too hard on the listeners’ ears either. Dawnrazer incorporates enough small details and variations on most of the tracks to make listening to them not too monotonous. Occasional voice samples of spoken Japanese further reinforce the context the album sets up. 

The title track Tokyo Dark opens with deep, dark ambience surrounded by distant electronic beeps and ghostly noises. Soon heavy synth pads swell over the ambience, which are then joined by a melodic arpeggio followed by string-like synth melodies. The track paints a stark, powerful, futuristic image and is an amazing start for the album that sets the tone wonderfully. 

The title track is followed by Toki no Uta which opens with wailing choirs highly reminiscent of the soundtrack of the first Ghost in the Shell movie. Hard synths soon overtake the choirs and the track quickly evolves into an utterly pulverizing darksynth track. The wailing choirs return every now and then among the track, and weighty synth string leads come to give the track further atmosphere. It’s an immensively powerful piece of music with enough variety and elements to prevent it from degrading into a sheer fest of hard saw synths. 

The next track Urahara opens with a bass arpeggio that would promise more synthwave-oriented material, but when the beat comes in the track evolves into something that is a bit more reminiscent of dubstep. Once again wailing choirs come to visit the track every now and then. The track paints a hectic, distressed image. Latter half of the track features a lengthy guitar solo over the hard beats, bringing variety to the sonic landscape. 

Azabu Domina is drive forwards by a very slow, heavy beat and deep bass. Metallic synth sequences and almost wind-like background noises pervade the track. Low synth strings and glassy pads sketch a sinister ambience. 

Shinjuku Zero opens with strange futuristic noises which morph into what sounds like a swarm of motorcycles passing around you. A heavy, deep bass arp hammers underneath. Thin synth strings come to offer melodic content, and a mid-tempo beat starts propelling the track forwards. Fuller synths come in to join the strings which play together a very enjoyable wistful melody. Stylistically this sets somewhere in the middle between the very beat-driven harder tracks and the more atmospheric ones. 

Frozen Time begins a streak a three atmosphere-oriented tracks. A repeating synth bassline and slow beats push the track forward, and dark ambient sounds and occasional choirs bring color to the track. Neuro Tripper begins with sinister ambient sounds, which are soon overtaken by a resonant synth arpeggio, followed by synth strings which dominate the track. There is something almost Jean Miche Jarre-esque about the earlier half of the track. Eventually the strings fade and give way to heavy, but slow bassline, which then gives once again way to the synth strings before the track fades into ambient noise. Shinjuku Zero Sunset opens with futuristic ambient noises and heavily warped sounds of urban life. Heavily reverbed clanking sounds give the track an almost factory-like feeling. The more abstract ambient elements give way to phasing, heavy synth pads, which then once again dissolve into sinister urban ambience. 

After three atmospheric tracks, Girls and Guns kicks the album back into motion. Opening with a combined bell/resonant synth tone that could set up a more traditional synthwave song. It insteadly rapidly evolves into an utterly demolishing futuristic darksynth banger. Glitchy saw synths bend and skitter over a heavy bassline, which are joined by various sound effects and chiptune-style leads. Occasional bursts of sharp gunfire-like percussions and pained yelps serve as the hooks. Hard, straightforward and one of my personal favorites from the album.  

Kaori in the City opens with sounds of rain and a woman speaking, followed by e-piano like synths. A bassline and a beat join the song after few atmospheric effects, and the track evolves into a powerful synthwave-type of piece after heavy saw synth come in. A breakdown of rather shrill synths leads into the main part of the song, which offers a somewhat chiptune-type of lead soaring over a driving beat and bassline. The track is weighty and hefty, but also has more melodic elements than the preceding offerings, sitting somewhere between darksynth and lighter synthwave. One of the definitive highlights of the album. 

Death or Glory offers another piece that veers closer to traditional synthwave and offers a similar mix of heavy synths and melodic elements. A constantly evolving synth lead is joined by occasional chiptune-like rapid chord arpeggios and wailing choirs recalling the earlier tracks from the album. The track maintains a fine balance between the harder and more driving elements and the synth leads and offers a fine ending to the album. 

My criticism towards the album boils down to pacing. I feel like the album would have strongly benefited from a bit different track order. The three atmospheric tracks that come after the halfway of the album are all fine on their own, but one after another they kind of grind the flow of the album to a standstill for a while. The more ambient tracks could have perhaps also done with a bit more airy production.

I also feel like the album overall tends to cluster kind of similar tracks together. Mixing things up a bit would have likely made the album flow better and highlighted the diversity contained within the hard futurism presented on the album. 

Nevertheless, even with these critiques, Tokyo Dark is an incredible debut release. It’s highly recommended for fans of dark futuristic electronic music. Dawnrazer has a strong, recognizable style and a clear capability at articulating a particular vision. It will be interesting to see where they go next. 

For more Dawnrazer, visit https://dawnrazer.bandcamp.com/

EDITORS’ PICK: REIN - Reincarnated

Written by KIZUNAUT

REINCARNATED is the debut album from the Swedish singer, songwriter, producer and label owner REIN.

Kicking off her career in 2016 with self-titled EP and following through with the Freedoom EP in 2017, Rein has since amassed positive critical reception in her home country. Her hard-edged, explicitly anti-authoritarian music has drawn influences from various styles, including oldschool EBM a la Nitzer Ebb, but also electro house and techno. With Reincarnated she offers a more polished, futuristic take on these influences that nevertheless makes no compromises.

As with her previous efforts, it’s hard to pin this album to a single genre, but stylistically the album leans more heavily on oldschool EBM influences than the previous Freedoom EP. You can also hear bits of electro, techno and even rave, but also influences from modern pop and dance. These elements are woven together expertly and seamlessly. EBM-basslines are joined by sharp synth stabs or futuristic arps which occasionally give way to brief atmospheric moments before picking up energy again. Rein uses the compositional trick of switching to an entirely different type of bassline for the chorus to great effect. A verse might present a more EBM-influenced bassline, while the chorus might take influence from darker strands of dance music or synthpop.

There are two tracks on the album which notably deviate from this quite EBM-influenced formula. Closer to Reality is a more synthpop-influenced number with an electro-type of synthetic backbeat that recalls certain pieces of late 80s and early 90s pop while maintaining the type of futuristic darkness that permeates the whole album. Dystopia is a more atmospheric piece which replaces the snare drum for a sharp click for the verses, returning to more familiar percussive pattern for the more energetic choruses. Lush synth pads and simple, but wonderful, minor key synth arps dominate the sonic landscape.

Despite obvious influences from the past, the overall presentation is very modern and sharp. The sound is pristine, clean and powerful. Kick drums hit with surgical precision, the basses nail just the right frequencies, the saw-synths are fat, and the synth stabs strike with power. The mix is percussive and very bassline and kickdrum forward, with everything else, even Rein’s voice taking back seat to these rhythmic elements.

But there’s more to the album than just raw, pushing rhythms. There’s very real attention to details. Modulations in the basslines, wonderful use of reverb, percussive and atmospheric elements looming in the background and rhythmic hooks loaning from contemporary styles of electronic music give life to compositions that could have otherwise been quite static or bare. Rein is also very good at using tension and release to give the tracks life. The tracks don’t just steamroll at one even pace, one even volume from start to end but have quieter and louder moments. The overall production is a major step-up from her previous releases.

Rein displays a very varied vocal range on the album, from straight up screaming to more subdued or deadpan styles, to more melodic singing which ranges from darker, even somewhat bluesy lines to a brighter, pop-like delivery on Closer to Reality. There are also moments where she uses heavily gated or delayed vocals for effect, and few moments with more abstract melodic singing which reminded me a bit of Grimes. Overall, her delivery is very good and more varied than in her previous works. I wouldn’t have minded if the vocals would have been just a tiny bit, just that one nudge of slider more front of the mix in some of the tracks.

Lyrically the album is dominated by themes of escaping domination and re-establishing control over your own life. These themes are continuation to anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist and feminist points of view expressed in hear earlier work, though here these themes are much more subtle. Here the calls to cast off dominant structures often also feels like a call to cast off inhibitions in the dance floor, perhaps best seen in the chorus of Reactivity.

New to this album are the various dystopian and futuristic images Rein calls upon. Closer to Reality directly references Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and Dystopia paints a hopeless picture of people being hunted by drones. Puppet Master is likely a direct reference to Ghost in the Shell, and Body Hammer to the sequel of the legendary scifi-horror weirdout film Tetsuo. The concept of virtual reality makes an appearance in couple of songs. The song Limitless ends the album on a defiant note, dealing about humanity’s capacity to overcome limitations, perhaps through sheer will, but in the context of album, perhaps also by through technology. It’s a stomping ode to human tenacity and bang to end the album with.

Taken together, the intermingling themes of control, self-determination, technology, authenticity and virtuality make for an effective whole that captures certain aspects of the spirit of times, which is something I always appreciate. By fusing these lyrical themes with music that is equally future-oriented and hard-hitting Rein has proven herself an extraordinary artist.

Overall, the album is excellent. At just a bit over 31 minutes in length, it’s also extremely compact, and I wouldn’t have minded one or two extra tracks of more material. Whether leaving the listener waiting for more was a deliberate choice or not I do not know, but I am certainly eagerly looking to hearing more from Rein. While fans of lighter synthpop or those looking for more conventional material might find the angular, percussive and aggressive material contained within alienating, fans of industrial and darker electronic music will surely get a kick out of this album. Rein has pushed her limits and delivered a modern EBM masterpiece.

For more REIN, visit: www.reinofficial.com

MoTER - Aerodnmx

Author: Dimi Kaye

Let me be clear, this is not an objective review. MoTER is a good friend and an old collaborator. In a parallel universe (that broke away from our own 3 years ago) he would be an artist under one of the oldest and most legendary synthwave labels around, with people praising his music. Unfortunately that’s not the universe we live in, so let me introduce MoTER to you.

First of all, before reading press play on Slam, the second track on his latest EP Aerodnmx 01. You did that? Great. Let’s begin.

MoTER is a synthwave producer from Greece. Even though he is a guitar teacher by day, you will never hear guitars in his music. Instead, what you get is synth sounds that have the grittiness you expect from analogue instruments. He doesn’t use a lot of instruments in his compositions though, you will mostly hear a sweet pad, a lovely lead synth, the bass and the drums. It’s what he does with these instruments that matters though.

Now, when I asked you to play Slam, one of the two things happened: You stopped dead on your tracks with the opening sound that reminded you of early PS1 racing video game soundtracks; You loaded a new tab with MoTER’s Bandcamp page and started checking his discography. When the track progressed, what got your attention was the incredibly unusual and fresh take on arrangements, melodies and use of the instruments. You could say this is… progressive synthwave. And you would be right.

If you are one of those people, you don’t need to read anymore. MoTER’s discography is on Bandcamp (and other streaming platforms). Go nuts, have fun listening to something that sounds new and fresh and if you find time, go tell MoTER that you checked his stuff, he will be glad to hear it.

Instead, if you kept reading, focusing more on the words instead of the music, I will ask you now to press play on Midnight Trail. Give it a few seconds and then tell me: Does your head bob? Do you find yourself playing air synths along with the stabs and the catchy melodies? Doesn’t this track feel like it would fit in a main menu screen from that PS1 racing game, with the announcer passionately screaming “Career Mode!”, “Time Attack!” etc. as you press up and down on your controller?

There is definitely retro nostalgia in MoTER’s music and even if it doesn’t remind you of 90s video games, I am sure it will take you back to an unspecified time in your life that you fondly remember.

The reality is that even in its slow, ballad moments (like Sq. Victoria), MoTER’s music sounds way different and unique than anything the retrowave scene has to offer. It has its own style, its own voice but definitely keeps that retro and nostalgic feeling we all love. MoTER’s music is to synthwave what Japanese Pop is to the western pop music. It’s still pop, but the chord progressions, the instrumentation and the inspirations behind it created something that you can definitely distinguish. It’s something familiar but different.

If you dig deep into MoTER’s discography you might feel that some track sounds feel similar, and that has to do with him mostly using the same instruments. That doesn’t take away the fact that his music remains original, something you probably haven’t heard before in synthwave.

There aren’t many people who heard of MoTER or his music, but those who do (some of them are artists you definitely know and love) are die hard fans and get excited when he announces a new release. I hope you become one of them.

As I wrote in the beginning, this is not an objective review. I am a big fan of his music and I have huge respect for the person. Then again, I will not go around praising someone if I don’t believe in them and their art. And I do believe in MoTER’s music. I believe that most of you who will check it will fall in love with the style and how different but catchy it is. How fresh and totally retro it sounds. If you do, then share his albums with your friends and let him know.

Stay creative and keep supporting synthwave.

For more MoTER, visit moter.bandcamp.com

Artist Spotlight: 0 0 0

Progressive synths (also known as death beats) have been on a rise, combining harsh textures, pulsating bass mimicking liquid electricity with organic top ends to create a new trance-like experience. Spearheaded by leading artists like LORN, SNAKES OF RUSSIA, SOMBRE LUX, and most recently by rising artist FUTURE ENEMIES, death beats is becoming the new dark trip hop with its downtempo, cutting-edge and slow-burn slick oil effect.

Our latest discovery is Dutch dark electronic artist 0 0 0, soaking in Amsterdam’s bustling city life like a black hole and converting the chaos and alienation into powerful, punching basslines and introspective soundscapes. 0 0 0 explains that his latest single, MIASMA, is named after the medieval theory that bad air is the messenger of disease and death. MIASMA captures 2020 in experimental midtempo fashion, where bad air refers both to the virus itself as well as the intentional spread of disinformation. The rest of 0 0 0’s discography offers smoke-like, aeroscopic dynamics with some industrial sludge and organic sounds. The arrangements are almost meditative in format, evoking textural images as tho painted in black, white and chrome. 0 0 0 is one of the few emerging artists today that bring a new level of artistry, sending visuals through sound and a new vibe.

For more 0 0 0, visit nul-nul-nul.bandcamp.com