This is one of the Echoing Green’s best loved classic songs, from the CD of the same name. It also appears on The Evergreen Collection, an excellent 2-CD best-of set. This is a fan-produced video that really captures the feeling of the song.
Here’s a classic song from the German synthpop/darkwave group, And One. Bizarre video, but cool song!
Rupesh Cartel’s 2007 release, The Disco and the What Not, is one of those CDs that I never get tired of. It contains an amazing collection of songs that are a delight to listen to on headphones. Lush, layered synthesizer arrangements combined with Viktor Ginner’s strong, expressive vocals are the closest thing to “ear candy” that I have experienced in some time.
The CD opens with the title track, which would sound right at home in any dance club around the world. Next comes About Denial, which is a catchy, uptempo song with some neat synth touches and vocal harmony. If you buy the deluxe 2 CD version of The Disco and the What Not, includes several great remixes of this song, including a club version and very good one by Rename.
One of my favorite tracks on the CD is Comes the Hour, Comes the Man. Its chorus is punctuated by sharp, rhythmic sythesizer riffs that sound really cool. Another standout is The Abyss, which opens with an echoey lead guitar (!) all by itself that sounds like it has been run through a synthesizer. Then the synths kick into a layered arrangement. The lyrics are interesting, too, including lines like “Homes. Locking doors for safety/And things will stay the same/We let sleeping dogs lie.” In other words, we tend not to like to disturb the status quo, because change could be even worse than our existing dire situation.
Hide Like This is anotehr notable track, which gets a very cool remix from Lowe on the bonus CD, adding guitars to the brew of synthesizers to excellent effect. Ghost White is the single from this CD, and it’s another great song. A very bright, percussive set of synthesizers carry the melody of this fun track, and the vocals are sung in harmony. It’s a great choice for the single.
In conclusion, The Disco and the What Not is one of my favorite CDs!
Ghost White is a club-friendly single from Rupesh Cartel’s 2007 release, The Disco and the What Not.
Until the release of their new CD, Terrorist TV (launched on September 11th, naturally!), I was only familiar with Foretaste through several of their remixes. But all that changed when I downloaded this fine CD from iTunes. It’s one of the most amazing new releases of 2008, from a French duo that few people have ever heard of. Foretaste is a duo with enigmatic names: XX handles the vocals with a very capable, sexy-sounding voice – with a French accent, of course – while XY does some very creative programming and backing vocals.
Terrorist TV opens with the song “Dying for the First Time in My Life,” the first of several dance-floor friendly tracks on the CD. “21″ is another excellent dance track, with a pulsating beat and expressive vocals. My particular favorite on Terrorist TV, however, is “Soft and Delicate,” which grabs ahold of you from the opening notes and never lets go. This excellent song has a techo feel, and is punctuated by playful synthesizer riffs and spoken vocals in several places. This CD also features several mid- and down-tempo tracks, which are equally as good.
One other track that is worthy of note is “The Virgin Concept,” a 1-minute instrumental that contains a pulsating synthesizer sound that is like nothing I’ve ever heard. It’s pretty cool, especially with the speakers or headphones turned up loud. It just resonates inside your head!
I’m normally not a big fan of female-fronted synthpop bands, but Foretaste is an amazing exception. I highly recommend this CD, as well as their first one, Beautiful Creatures. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
For more info:
Band website: http://www.foretaste-music.com
MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/foretaste
Where to buy: A Different Drum
This selection is from the excellent new Mesh “We Collide” live DVD – highly recommended. I just wish these guys would tour the U.S. once in a while! 
A great ballad from those fine German crooners, De/vision.
I love synthpop. My iPod has over 2,000 songs as of last count. I love the process of discovering new music. I have to wade through a lot of stuff that just doesn’t tickle my ears, but when I do find something notable, it’s very exciting. Here are five of my favorite synthpop acts, who have been in heavy rotation on my iPod Touch lately:
