Synth Single Review: “Beyond the Stars” by LightSource

by Karl Magi

LightSource’s “Beyond the Stars” journeys across the universe as it unfolds. The track comes into being as a high melody, full of expansive, noble emotion, swells on a glowing synth that exhales nebular light. The bass stretches as wide as a starfield, while rebounding percussion adds planetary mass. A refulgent synth carries a melody steeped in majesty and warming power. Tiny pinpoints of light sparkle like a thousand candles in velvety darkness, evoking the feeling of cosmic travel.

I find myself touched and filled with awe as starry vistas spread before me. The soaring theme carries sensations of free-floating flight and endless adventure, propelling the music forward. Shimmering tones now evoke flashes of starlight glancing off the dull metal of a spaceship’s hull, serene and tranquil. Once again, vibrating drums add guidance as the main melody gathers all the wonders of deep space. The melody grows rich with feeling, overwhelming in strength and intensity, before the track gently ends.

Synth Single Review:“Pretending to Be Cool” by NÆ & Blizz

by Karl Magi

NÆ’s “Pretending to Be Cool” is a dazzling blast of synth-pop fun. The song opens with metallically bouncing percussion and a rapidly rushing piano driven by heavy bass. NÆ chants the lyrics with playful confidence, supported by a thumping kick drum. I enjoy the joyful, carefree performance as a bending synth cries out with a ghostly, computerized shimmer.

NÆ lets her voice bloom with smooth expressiveness, joined by Blizz’s backing vocal. Quickly pulsing drums and synth mingle as interlocking, electrifying percussion adds shape. The track shifts into a section where an undulating synth mirrors the vocals and a twisty little melody shimmies through with snaky smoothness. Both vocalists sound like they’re having a great time as the tightly wiggling synth figure floats past and the percussion kicks hard.

Our storyteller admits, “I’m so good at pretending to be cool,” as she invites everyone to watch and play the game too. “Let’s take off, rocket to the moon, pockets in my spacesuit.” Now it’s “click, flash, bang, like everything is true,” as she urges everyone to “look in the deep blue hologram endlessly.”

She asks if anyone remembers her, adding, “The robots do and yours do too.” As they soar through the atmosphere, all fears are illuminated and they end up “falling into who we are.” She concludes, “It’s all pretend, let’s all pretend, you’re all pretend, I’m all pretend.”

Synth Single Review: “Velaphor” by Echo Wolf

by Karl Magi

Echo Wolf’s “Velaphor” is a breath of tropical night air. Gleaming notes sweep wide, carrying a reflective melody into echoing space. The percussion holds a steady, slightly muffled cadence as the lead synth exhales auroral illumination. A placid, faintly melancholy emotion fills the firefly-like synth drifting above a smooth kick drum. Breathy sounds glide as natural textures bring organic beauty.

The track flows and swirls with grace. The lead synth touches with breezy delicacy while varied percussion throbs beneath. Everything radiates a lush green quality, rich with exotic scents, as the underlayer pulses. Percussion drops away, rain falls and slowly spinning arpeggios drift with tropical calm before the rhythmic heartbeat returns. Computerized notes wash in an undulating tide as clapping percussion shapes the music. The main melody returns with warming emotion, floating like rainforest mist and the track ends in fragile sounds.

Synth Single Review: “Genesis” by SkelOne

by Karl Magi

SkelOne’s “Genesis” is rich with images of dark alleyways and phosphorescent streetlights. The track comes to life as earthy bass moves with laser-bright notes that interlock into a blurring rush while snapping percussion cuts in. The beat leaps forward and ferocious arpeggios circle jaggedly. Dramatic darkness permeates the music, conjuring a cyberpunk city full of lethal beauty as the rhythmic pulse charges ahead.

Towering notes move with entangling strings, adding peril and tension. The drums drop away as a reverberant synth glows with urban incandescence, finger-snapping percussion drifting past. Smoothly gliding tones evoke late-night drives through decaying streets. The beat accelerates again and the main melody flies with galvanic strength, racing through neon-lit shadows before the underpinnings soften and twanging tones levitate with hushed, peaceful sensations as silence falls.