New episode of Synthentral is now online!
Today’s episode features music by RO13, Timecop1983, ELM, Junk Circuit, Vigilante, Tweaker, Diffuzion, Atlantic Popes, Horizonte Lied, In-Progress, Sacris Idolum, Nexus-6, Cygnets, Abbey Death, Robotiko Rejekto, Soviet, Mirland, The Firm Incorporated, Mirreya, Twice A Man, Selofan, Elmodic, Robert Parker, Phantogram, State Of The Nation, Bigod 20, Kaj, and Foreign Technology!
Just click on the synthesizer below to listen!
My theme this time is “2016 New Music!” I put all the music released in 2016 and sorted it alphabetically by album. This is Volume 4, with album titles T through Z. Some bands put out more than one album in 2016, so you may see them twice in different volumes. 2016 was a fantastic music year if you like synth-based music! It was also a phenomenal year for concerts for me. I got to see some amazing artists in concert, from Assemblage 23 to the Pet Shop Boys. Here’s hoping 2017 is just as magical!
It’s music time again! Why do I do this? Well, in the hopes of introducing people to new synth-based music (EBM, Futurepop, Synthpop, Synthwave, Darkwave, Industrial, Industrial Dance, Electro, etc). So give the bands a listen and if you like what you hear, then go and pay for their album and support the bands!
NOTE: I own (as in paid for, or was gifted) all of the music that I feature. I also attend as many local shows that I can to support bands when they’re on tour. Please do the same and support music!
I missed Marsheux in Volume 1, so rectifying that now…
ARTIST: Marsheaux
SONG: Like A Movie
ALBUM: Ath.Lon
YEAR: 2016
I also forgot Tonebox in Volume 3, so rectifying that…
ARTIST: Tonebox
SONG: Mechanism Pilot
ALBUM: Nocturn
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Metroland
SONG: Synthetic Sound
ALBUM: Things Will Never Sound The Same Again
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Phantogram
SONG: Funeral Pyre
ALBUM: Three
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Entrzelle
SONG: Bloodborn
ALBUM: Total Progressive Collapse (Bonus Tracks Version)
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Perturbator
SONG: Venger
ALBUM: The Uncanny Valley
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Skold
SONG: Wake Up And Die
ALBUM: The Undoing (Deluxe Edition)
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Bootblacks
SONG: Always
ALBUM: Veins
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Violetta Crush
SONG: Summer Star
ALBUM: Violetta Crush EP
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Body Of Light
SONG: Burn As One
ALBUM: Volantà Di Amore EP
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Fredrik Croona
SONG: World Beneath My Skin
ALBUM: Welcome Home
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Hamerzya
SONG: Extra-Dimensional Pulses
ALBUM: Welcome, Strange Visitor
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Blinky Blinky Computerband
SONG: Meine Freizeit (Restriction 9 Remix)
ALBUM: What’s Your Frequency: A Collection of Remixses
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Soulimage
SONG: Heaven Above
ALBUM: The Whole Universe
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Ladyhawke
SONG: Chills
ALBUM: Wild Things
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Blinky Blinky Computerband
SONG: Words & Inspiration
ALBUM: Words & Inspiration (Single)
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Blaqk Audio
SONG: You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
ALBUM: You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) (Single)
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Diorama
SONG: Beta
ALBUM: Zero Soldier Army
YEAR: 2016
ARTIST: Selofan
SONG: Nightclub In The Sky
ALBUM: Στο Σκοτάδι
YEAR: 2016
Suzanne Ciani, a New Age synth icon!
I love most everything synth-based, especially Synthpop, Futurepop, EBM, Industrial, Industrial Dance, Synthwave, Darkwave, etc. Hell, I even like some synth-based New Age music (in other words, not Yanni). But you know what I really like? Those genres with women vocalists! So it’s music time with women vocalists (and musicians) in the Synthpop, Futurepop, EMB, Industrial, and Darkwave world! I didn’t realize there were so many until I actually started thinking about it. There are so many I’ve had to break this up! So here is Volume 5: O to R!
ARTIST: Omnimar
SONG: Ego Love
ALBUM: Start
YEAR: 2015
ARTIST: One Vista
SONG: Nothing Else
ALBUM: Changing Places
YEAR: 2013
ARTIST: The Other Two
SONG: Selfish
ALBUM: The Other Two & You
YEAR: 1993
ARTIST: Owlle
SONG: Ticky Ticky
ALBUM: France
YEAR: 2014
ARTIST: Paradoxx
SONG: Radium-Lover
ALBUM: Atomika
YEAR: 2004
ARTIST: Parallels
SONG: Ritual Dancer
ALBUM: XII
YEAR: 2012
Some of their songs are male vocals and that’s okay, we like those too. ;)
Parralox is a busy band for sure. Original music, tons of amazing covers, a radio show (Neon Nights), and they go out of their way to share other awesome synth music to their fans. They are a fan’s band for sure! So check them out when you get the chance.
ARTIST: Parralox
SONG: Electricity
ALBUM: Electricity (Limited Edition)
YEAR: 2008
ARTIST: Pearls of Dew
SONG: Out Of Time
ALBUM: Alpha
YEAR: 2007
ARTIST: Phantogram
SONG: Celebrating Nothing
ALBUM: Phantogram EP
YEAR: 2013
Can’t have a women of synth list without Poeme Electronique!
ARTIST: Poeme Electronique
SONG: The Echoes Fade
ALBUM: Echoes Fade, The (2009 Remastered Reissue) (Limited Edition)
YEAR: 1982 (original release)
ARTIST: Pool Waitress
SONG: I’ll Trash Your Name
ALBUM: Diving Bored
YEAR: 2003
ARTIST: Pristina
SONG: The Ides Of May
ALBUM: Stars & Sirens
YEAR: 2006
ARTIST: Prospective
SONG: The Dark Side Of Life
ALBUM: The Dark Side Of Life
YEAR: 2008
I had the pleasure of seeing Purity Ring in Birmingham, AL of all places. Such a great show full of light and grace and melody. Did I mention I saw them in Alabama of all places? LOL
ARTIST: Purity Ring
SONG: Heartsigh
ALBUM: Another Eternity
YEAR: 2015
ARTIST: Purple Fog Side
SONG: Emptiness Is a Gift
ALBUM: Reality Awaits
YEAR: 2013
ARTIST: Roman Remains
SONG: Crown Upon My Head
ALBUM: Energy You EP
YEAR: 2013
Hey! It’s Saturday! It’s not even noon and I’ve accomplished a lot already, so now it’s time to relax for a bit and listen to some tunes. No theme today… just putting MediaMonkey on shuffle and seeing what comes out. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
ARTIST: Universal Poplab
SONG: Lover’s Lane
ALBUM: Universal Poplab
YEAR: 2004
ARTIST: Julien-K
SONG: Stranded
ALBUM: Death To Analog
YEAR: 2009
ARTIST: IAMX
SONG: Come Home
ALBUM: The Unified Field
YEAR: 2013
ARTIST: Sadman
SONG: Wolves
ALBUM: 9th and Last Life
YEAR: 2010
ARTIST: The Mercy Cage
SONG: Force on Moving Charges
ALBUM: ScreeTransmissions
YEAR: 2005
ARTIST: Seabound
SONG: The Promise (Club Edit)
ALBUM: Double-Crosser (Extended)
YEAR: 2006
ARTIST: The Endparty
SONG: Home
ALBUM: Beauty Always Leaves
YEAR: 2002
ARTIST: Xanthippe
SONG: I Should Say So
ALBUM: Issue5 / The Love Zombie
YEAR: 2011
ARTIST: Parralox
SONG: Europa
ALBUM: Electricity (Limited Edition)
YEAR: 2008
If you’re a fan of The Cure, this is one of Robert Smith’s side projects (he sings on a few songs)… so go buy the album!
ARTIST: The Glove
SONG: Orgy
ALBUM: Blue Sunshine
YEAR: 1983
ARTIST: Faderhead
SONG: Scumfucker
ALBUM: Black Friday
YEAR: 2010
ARTIST: Phantogram
SONG: Mouthful Of Diamonds
ALBUM: Eyelid Movies
YEAR: 2009
ARTIST: Spleen United
SONG: High Rise
ALBUM: Neanderthal
YEAR: 2008
ARTIST: Information Society
SONG: Creatures of Influence
ALBUM: Creatures Of Influence EP
YEAR: 1985
ARTIST: Glis
SONG: Death by Misadventure
ALBUM: Phoenix (Special Edition)
YEAR: 2013
ARTIST: Felix Marc
SONG: Parallel Worlds
ALBUM: Parallel Worlds
YEAR: 2011
ARTIST: Vault-113
SONG: Entrückung (First Mix)
ALBUM: Cold Fusion (Deluxe Edition)
YEAR: 2013
ARTIST: Butterfly Messiah
SONG: The Circle
ALBUM: Eternal
YEAR: 2003
ARTIST: Zoon Politicon
SONG: Special Kind Of Love
ALBUM: Black In White
YEAR: 2016
I usually put this out at the end of the year, but I still had some music to import into my library and wanted to make sure I had everyone on the list!
2014 was a great year for music. It wasn’t as an amazing year as 2013 was for quantity, but what it lacked in quantity it certainly made up for with quality. A lot of great bands that I love put out new music in 2014.
I’m a huge fan of EBM, Futurepop, Industrial Dance, Synthpop, New Wave, etc. I’m always happy to see the scene continue to produce new bands and great music. And this year marked new albums by some bands a few of us older folks will recognize, like Billy Idol, Information Society, and Simple Minds!
Thanks to the following bands for putting out new stuff in 2014!
Billy Idol — Kings & Queens of the Underground
Birthday Massacre, The — Superstition
BlutEngel — Black Symphonies (An Orchestral Journey)
Bryan Ferry — Avonmore
Bush — Man on the Run
Clan of Xymox — Matters of Mind, Body and Soul
Client — Authority
Combichrist — We Love You
Cosmicity — Humans May Safely Graze
Cryo — Retropia
Diary of Dreams — Elegies in Darkness
Echo & The Bunnymen — Meteorites
Erasure — Reason EP
Erasure — Violet Flame, The
Faderhead — Atoms & Emptiness
Front Line Assembly — Echoes
Haerts — Haerts
Information Society — Hello World
Iris — Radiant
Laibach — Spectre
Live — Turn, The
Melotron — Werkschau
Mental Discipline — Butterfly EP
Mitch Murder — Interceptor
Morrissey — World Peace Is None of Your Business
New Division, The — Together We Shine
Nine Inch Nails — Recoiled
Perturbator — Dangerous Days
Peter Murphy — Lion
Phantogram — Voices
Seabound — Speak In Storms
Simple Minds — Big Music
Smashing Pumpkins — Monuments to an Elegy
St. Vincent — St. Vincent
Surveillance — Oceania
Thomas Bergersen — Sun
THYX — Super Vision
Trust, The — Joyland
Weezer — Everything Will Be Alright In the End
Whiteqube — Panic, Rage, Riot, Revolt! EP
Xenturion Prime — Mecha Rising
Blair Scott: Synthentral 