Synth Single Review: “Our Last Disco” by enøize

by Karl Magi

enøize’s “Our Last Disco” combines wistful emotion with a funky flow. The track opens as a steady disco pulse locks into a groove and hard-hitting percussion shifts. A shimmying rhythm moves with laser-like sounds as undulating notes ripple with energy. Sliding tones sweep past while a glittering synth flashes in the background.

The main melody drifts in a minor key on a twisting synth, where melancholy mingles with momentum, driven by colossal beats below. Trembling tones move smoothly with a shadowy slide as the foundation pushes forward. Delicate notes drift in waves, adding digitized elegance as arpeggiating lines leap through the music.

I enjoy the ghostly, pained emotion of the vaulting tonal pattern while a glowing synth slips past with smooth, yearning grace. The phrase “our last disco” repeats as a synth flows with mournful elegance, trickling background notes adding fragility before silence falls.

Synth A/B Single Review: “Deathball” by Jessy Mach & lxst child

by Karl Magi

Jessy Mach & lxst child’s “Deathball” tells a terrifying tale of life and death combat in the shell of a post-apocalyptic world. Contestants fight to the death with whatever weapons are at hand and the brutal stakes are all too real.

“Arena of Fate” begins with a cheering crowd and darkly sweeping bass as the announcer gives a dramatic opening to the lethal game of Deathball. The voiceover, done by Jules Neon Fawkes, is entertaining and sets the stage for what’s to come. Slowly swelling notes in the distance glow, contrasting with the deep drama.

Smoothly rippling notes with a nervous sound glide as rain falls to commence “Deathball.” The underlying synth is soothing, while slowly exhaling sounds move with a growing sense of danger, sharper notes becoming more prominent. Now Jessy Mach’s guitar slashes with a mixture of nobility and violence, shining with victorious radiance as the pounding drums rebound.

The main melody combines majesty with dominant power as Jessy Mach fills it with strength and skillful playing. The underlayer heaves as the churning guitar slices cleanly and synthesized arpeggios swirl in the distance. The rhythm fades away as the guitar drifts with piercing brightness and the background takes on a misty delicacy.

The rhythm returns along with the snarling guitar, creating a melody full of tension and suspense. As the gleaming guitar rises, it feels triumphant and tinged with melancholy, while a punching foundation pushes forward. As the melody unfolds, it gathers strength before the solo is unleashed with intense intricacy, cascading with unstoppable energy.

Darkness in the background adds a pleasing contrast as a trumpeting synth is lacerated by flying guitar and the underpinnings explode. Images of intense combat and moments of great danger combine before the song comes to an end with soft exhalations and thunderous guitar.

Synth A/B Single Review: “No Smoking In The Apocalypse” by Nakatomi FreeFall

by Karl Magi

Nakatomi FreeFall’s “No Smoking In The Apocalypse” is a deeply emotive and expressive exploration of complicated emotions and the way we must all navigate them. It journeys through many moods weaving music, lyrics and vocals into a seamless whole.

“Phenomenon” starts as vibrating drums move with static, sharply crackling sounds. Guitar begins to surge and writhe as a harmonica-like synth carries a hauntingly twisted melody. The foundation is gruff and slicing as Corey Rokkett’s echoing, dramatically expressive voice carries the ghostly melody while the piano unwinds with tender light.

Corey Rokkett has a classically New Wave sound, full of emotion and a theatricality which I enjoy. The seething low end contrasts with the gentler melody and the haunting guitar as the rhythm ticks. Marjie Velour’s voice has deep emotion embedded within it, mingled with lacerating guitar and the crackling background while the metallic drums rattle.

As a steadily vibrating sound moves with the guitar, it wriggles and twists with shadowy sensations and elevated notes cry out before silence falls.

"You ask an inch and take a mile," and the first narrator lets it happen because "I'm a prisoner to your smile and I fear you." He refers to the other person as a phenomenon who has him "spinning on a wheel." He sees her in his dreams like a phenomenon.The second narrator says, "You run so far and I pursue and you don't see the truth." She concludes by saying, "Understanding, piercing eyes, I feel you beside me."

Slowly rebounding synth moves with a computerized feeling to commence “Matter of the Heart.” Actively shifting rhythms move with Avro’s haunting voice as it drifts with deep feeling, while softly intertwining synth floats and the bass throbs. I enjoy Avro’s powerfully expressive, tenderly emotive performance, which carries the wistfully broken melody.

In the distance, quickly undulating tones move with the darkly slicing bass and trembling notes that carry a melody full of nervousness and pain. The variable percussion creates a solid foundation as the glittering notes wander, free and unmoored. Chimes flicker with delicate light as Avro’s hurting, softly touching voice unfolds with a pained melodic pattern. The underlying sounds add flowing fragility as the drums pulse to form a steady underpinning.

As the bending tones howl mournfully, the vocals call out with powerfully moving sensations. Wildly dancing, vibrating notes rise as the lead synth soars. Deep bass pulsates in broken lines as elevated notes flash with sunlight. The way in which the lead synth twirls and tumbles creates unease, while the powerful vocal performance punches the lyrics home. Shadow seethes along with wildly wriggling sounds before the song ends.

The storyteller speaks of "my devotion, discarded notions" as he feels like an emotionless statue. He adds, "I'm so young, still unsung, I don't understand your mother tongue." He describes the sting of leather, a silver ring, and a beaten fighter taking his final swing. As he stands still without any answer, he is "an animal in a paralyzed kill."

"Behind the screen, I watch unseen" as he sees "every pixel clean, delicious and obscene." The narrator describes the other person’s beauty and fanaticism pulling him apart in a matter of the heart. He speaks of things as "artificial, superficial, broken from the start." He goes on to say, "Grinding gears, swollen fears, I feel a chill from these deceptive years."

He isn't young anymore and he's still unsung but "I speak the words through your tongue." He talks of raising grasping hands in foreign lands while "ordnance pounds out any doubt." As the song ends, he says he'll "suffer consequences, surrendering defenses, true to form."

Arkavoid - Aesthyria

by Karl Magi

Overall Album Impressions

Arkavoid’s “Aestheryia” travels through complex, skillfully woven sonic landscapes, moving across various styles of synthesized music, from pounding synthwave to ethereal vaporwave. Arkavoid shifts seamlessly between styles and moods while retaining a cohesive sound, resulting in an album that is intensely engaging. The way Arkavoid combines guitar with a rich variety of synth tones, textures and timbres deepens the complexity and beauty of the music. All in all, the journey he takes us on is both exciting and ear-pleasing.

One of the most effective aspects of “Aestheryia” is the atmospheric experience it creates. Each track paints a clear vignette of a unique scene through sound. I enjoy the cinematic nature of the imagery Arkavoid conjures as he blends many distinct synth sounds to weave fascinating, short-form tales within each piece. The end result is music that moves across a wide spectrum of evocative emotional and mental states as it unfolds.

Another crucial component of “Aestheryia”is the compositional skill on display. Each track feels like a self-contained world, filled with the varied tones and textures that synths can create. There is a sense of an unfolding vision that flows from track to track, giving the listener a full experience of sonic depth. I am compelled by the instrumental interweaving as the guitar moves in and out of the different synth layers, creating richly detailed and engaging music.

Melody also plays a vital role in this album. I am enamored with the way Arkavoid crafts melodies that capture the emotional core of each track. He composes with care and expression, increasing the album’s immersive pull. As each melody moves through the music, it intensifies the atmosphere and draws me deeper into every composition.

My Favourite Tracks Analyzed

“AE-101” comes into being as deeply pulsing foundational weight moves with darkly shifting notes which plane through the music. Anticipatory urgency underpins the organ-like synth which adds heavy shadow and ominous drama. The organ’s classical portent deepens the sensations of approaching danger in an ear-pleasing way as a shivering sound moves with spinning tones. An underpinning note rings out as the twisting, writhing synth is split by a screaming warning before the music stops.

Rebounding, deep notes form a revolving pattern to open “Masterlight.” Massively crushing drums intertwine with twisting guitar that wriggles uncomfortably, like a dark creature. A guitar pattern becomes hypnotic and repetitive, entrancing as it unfolds. An insistent rhythm heaves with threatening weight.

The track drives forward as a synth drifts plaintively and guitar slashes with menacing strength. The way in which power and discomfort mingle effectively creates a sense of approaching evil. Drums continue to punch as a twirling synth comes in, emphasizing shadowy tendrils reaching out from darkness.

A synth choir echoes with intensity while the melody becomes melancholy, touching me with the contrast it offers. Jagged notes fulminate below the gentler melody as it levitates. Cleanly glowing notes dance as the underlayer pounds and the guitar solo climbs with hurt and minor-key darkness, mingling ferocity and ache.

Arkavoid pours emotion into the music and the underpinnings rebound heavily. The guitar descends with tremulous energy and once again a hypnotizing pattern leaps through the music, creating dynamic momentum. The rhythm is unstoppable as the guitar churns and silence falls.

“Vaporkiss” commences as warm light spills from a climbing synth and seagulls cry in the distance. Heavy bass rebounds as the sharp drums splash widely and resonating notes carry a wistful melody that hovers through the music. An arpeggio echoes and spins before undulating as luminous chords add a sunlit gleam.

The feeling of sun burning off the morning mist permeates the music, suffusing it with a gentle radiance, contrasted by the punchy rhythm. Ringing notes float lightly as rounded, digital-sounding tones tremble quickly, adding a slightly unsettling quality. The broadly bursting underlayer adds shape while a rapidly flickering synth moves like sun bursting through fog.

I enjoy the balance of lightness and weight as the arpeggiating notes shimmer, matched with leaping tones. An echoing voice drifts, lost in the haze of the music while clearer notes flash. The foundation throbs as waves wash and chords flare before silence falls.

The sound of a car door opening and a powerful engine being revved kicks off “Overlimit”. A synth surges in bright lines, matched with urgent bass as the drums join in. Beaming notes are slashed by Arkavoid's sharp-edged guitar as it descends with fervent power. The drums explode as the guitar creates rushing velocity, shining above the pounding rhythm. The guitar slices cleanly as it spins out a madly intertwining melodic pattern along with razor-sharp synth and growling V8 sounds.

The drums create a flowing sensation while dazzling notes fill the music with tension. I enjoy the way in which Arkavoid's guitar lacerates, filling me with the feeling of charging through the night at the wheel of a massively powerful motorized beast. Now the bass entangles with the pulsing drums, which occasionally burst heavily. As the song comes to an end, the listener is left with the sense of a dramatic midnight rush.

“Black Eyes” erupts with truly massive drums pulsing as a siren cries out. A gruffly trumpeting synth creates threatening motion while the drums continue to burst heavily. Razor-sharp notes flick past while the pounding low end heaves and revolving notes twirl. String-like synth adds high drama while the propulsive drums and bass press forward. Towering guitar growls with forceful dynamism, carrying a melody capturing raging power and rising danger.

Chimes ring with fierce light as a choral synth creates a dark atmosphere. As the colossal drums continue to throb, the repeating synth melody glows with unrelenting light. The guitar slices back in as the looming synth creates hugely forceful sensations, conjuring imagery full of peril for me. The guitar continues to slash through the music while exciting notes shine and the track ends with dramatic intensity

After an unsettling period of static, a cassette is popped into a tape deck and “Symphony of Death” begins. A faraway, chiming synth moves in a trembling pattern full of worry and growing tension. Gargantuan drums rebound as a gruff underlayer cuts sharply, while elevated tones flicker with fear.

The string-like synth spins out a terrified melody, speaking of horrors waiting to strike from the shadows, while lacerating guitar notes rip into the music like razor-sharp claws. The underpinnings seethe with danger, filling me with a deep sense of impending doom. A telephone rings endlessly, joined by a haunting voice as the surging blackness below rises in a terrifying tide.

The main melody captures me with its chilling depth while a hellish choir of sound echoes beneath it. Arkavoid’s guitar tears apart the music as the slow drum beats add grim shape, before tautly flickering chimes drift slowly into silence.

Conclusion

“Aestheryia” is a fully immersive journey through a multitude of fascinating worlds, limned in luscious sound. Arkavoid demonstrates remarkable skill and creativity in painting vivid images in the mind through interacting synths and textures. This is music for internal travel, guiding the listener toward new worlds and altered states of mind.