AGNIS - I Am The Light

Polish mystical dark pop artist AGNIS unveils her ethereal, yet haunting new single and visuals I Am The Light thru darkTunes Music Group EU and joins dark electro and industrial/metal music acts such as OmniMar, Dust In Mind, C Z A R I N A and Toal in the German-French group’s roster. AGNIS (which means “pure” in Nordic, “to share” in Latin, and also the name of the Indian God of Fire) is the project of Agnieszka Leśna - a seasoned electronic music veteran and former front woman of the metal/industrial band DESDEMONA, which was a regular at renowned music festivals such as M'era Luna (Germany), Made Of Metal (Czech Republic) and Castle Party (Poland). AGNIS decided to start her own solo project after her brief stint in playing with bands and released I Am The Light as her first single - a fitting reflection of her own growth and transformation from darkness to light and calling listeners to do the same. Her music video reflects the duality of her single, showing a woman dressed in black dancing in harsh, abstract movements which AGNIS descibes as “the dance of the darkside” over ominous piano riffs and haunting vocals.

“The darkness knows she must let the light rule now but she fights, she wants to go into the light but it hurts,” AGNIS explains. “ When I was editing the video I saw a part where I was standing with my hands crossed on my chest, I knew I know the symbol that came out that way. I checked it and… Wow! It was the rune DEGAZ which means ‘TRANSFORMATION FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT!’ Pure magic!”

The video then reveals the “light side” - AGNIS now shown dressed in all white, in delicate and effervescent dance and quiet, peaceful oneness with nature and her surroundings.

All shot during the pandemic, AGNIS worked on the video in isolation with her husband, using the Baltic Sea, its surrounding flora and dramatic sunset as backdrop. The power couple captured the track’s lucid magic in its simple yet boldly atmospheric cinematography and gorgeous dance sequences. Her debut single and visuals offer merely a taste of who AGNIS is and she is an exciting rising artist to watch!

For more AGNIS, visit her Spotify

Get the debut single of AGNIS "I am the Light"► https://smarturl.it/AGNISlight↓↓↓↓ more infos belowAGNISOnce upon a space and time there lived a creature of ...

Artist Spotlight: ACE BUCHANNON

Helsinki-based Finnish Synthwave producer, guitar and keytar hero ACE BUCHANNON is Vesa Tamminen’s brainchild, whose debut record Magenta Nights (2018) had grown into a synthwave essential with head-banging, shoulder-shimmying tracks such as ‘Buns of Steel” and moodier offerings like “Breakout.” His dynamic retro-futurist approach to ‘80s nostalgia is further revealed in his sophomore record Eye of the Storm, especially with “Come Alive’ (featuring vocals by the effervescent Anna Moore) - a jazz and funk-infused synthwave complete with the what we perceive to be the most tastefully executed sax performance over crystalline arpeggiated melodies and heavy-hitting TR 808s.

But what we love seeing in every musician is their growth and evolution. We see Ace Buchannon stretch his long Finnish legs further into darker, futuristic realms first with “Mizukage Prototype” and now with his new cyberpunk single, “Dreamer Archetype.” The track explores themes of archetypal psychology in the context of artificial intelligence. The story behind “Dreamer Archetype” is about an AI shutting down all communication outwards by its own will and is "dreaming" within a massive network - creating new worlds for the hive mind. (Word! We could use that particular kind of virtual reality right now.) The Ace Buchannon DNA is still apparent in his new direction with his signature high-octave melodies, though now looming over haunting staccatos and polyrhythmic, metallic machine soundscapes that transport listeners to a dark, cybernetic dystopian era.

But why do we adore the Ace Buchannon projects so much and why they matter? Ace’s first foray in electronic music production began in the ‘90s when he finally was able to make his first big purchase thanks to hoarding his weekly allowance: a Sound Blaster 16 soundcard, which enabled him to make music with DOS tracker programs such as Scream Tracker 3 and Impulse Tracker. He wasn’t serious about making and releasing music until he discovered synthwave, which led him to start this project in 2016. Yet since his debut, Ace Buchannon has not been shy about voicing his own journey both as an artist and as a human. His mission with this project is to lift the listener, to rouse them to seize the day and to defy odds. With a musical and philosophical DNA that rose from his own inner struggles and victories, tracks like “Never Surrender” (Featuring Gryff) further exemplify his sentiments about creating art. Now we witness an artist coming to terms with his own journey, developing his own paradigm, and eloquently churning all his experiences into an ever-evolving, compelling body of sheer creativity with a clear message about the peaks and valleys of life and - above all - never surrendering. Besides, we don’t know anyone else who can don clean-cut, colorful matching pants and blazers and Ray-Bans and while keytar-heroing live on stage better than this one true Ace.

For more Ace Buchannon, visit acebuchannon.bandcamp.com

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