808 Dot Pop have released 2 new EP's, a taster for 2 new albums due out soon.
808 Dot Pop is a side project of Passenger S, of Metroland and following on from the impressive album "The Colour Temperature", he is set to release 2 new albums, with the concept being "Radio's" and as you would expect he has researched the topic in great detail and having heard both new albums he has done a fabulous job, having gone back to the very start of radio, right back to its inventor, Guglielmo Marconi, early crystal set radio's and beyond.
The first new music from the album is indeed a song about Radio's inventor "Marconi", I have been lucky to hear this album develop from very early rough demo's through to the finished album and as soon as I heard the demo of "Marconi" it stood out as a really strong track, so much so, I decided to write lyrics for the song and recorded a rough vocal guide over the demo and sent it to Passenger S, who loved what I had come up with and has used the lyrics in the final version of the song, which is the lead track on the "FM 101.4 EP", superbly sung by Lis Van Den Akker, it is infectious and pure synthpop and one of the best songs Passenger S has produced, as you would expect really nice melodies and sequencer patterns.
The 2nd track on the EP is "The Detector", another track that stood out from the early demo's and the finished track has blown me away, that hookline is one of THE best melody lines Passenger S has written, the song takes you through the components that make up early radio's, again Lis has produced an excellent vocal performance, excellent voices created for the song too. I love everything about this song, pure synthpop perfection and that melody will get you dancing and singing along, brilliant!
The 3rd track on this EP is "RCA AR 88 LF", what is this I hear you say, well, it is a communications receiver that dates back to World War II, the track is sequencer driven with a strong Bass-line and some nice synth parts, the dark sounds compliment the upbeat rhythm section and sequencer sections.
The 2nd EP is called "AM 685" and features 2 superb extended mixes of "Marconi", the "Large-Scale Measurements" mix and the "VS 580-12" mix, there is a meaning about the title of this mix, which I guessed correctly but I won't spoil your fun, what do you think the mix title relates too?? The EP also includes "Voices" and an extended "Bypassed" mix of "The Detector".
If you are a fan of 80s styled extended mixes then you will love the "Large-Scale Measurements" mix of "Marconi" as it expands the "On The Radio" version on the other EP, and what a mix it is, I cannot speak highly enough of the music Passenger S has produced for this concept and he always delivers with his extended remixes, this is one of the best extended mixes he has produced, faultess!
Just when you think how can he eclipse or equal the first "Marconi" remix, he delivers another stunning remix of "The Detector", the "Bypassed" mix, is one of the greatest extended mixes I have ever heard, it is brilliant and to get that melody line expanded across 6 minutes of synthetic precision is a real bonus, this along with "Marconi" will become fan favourites, truly exceptional.
"Voices" starts off with Radio noise and a vocoded vocal, it has a more laidback chill feeling with minimal synths and some nice effect sounds, it took me back to my Short Wave listening days in my late teens.
The pace of the track increases from the 2 minute mark with a kick drum and bass, very atmospheric and something you could imagine OMD coming up with in their "Dazzle Ships" period, Passenger S is a massive OMD fan by the way :)
The "VS 580-12", has quite a different feel to the other extended mix and it also excels, I really like the thicker sound to this mix, different sequencer parts too on this mix, which makes it interesting and the drums are different, it has a darker sound palette, which are recipies for another fantastic mix. I must say, yet again, that Passenger S is the master of the sequencer, he creates wonderful sequencer parts across all the music he makes, again an outstanding mix.
An outstanding introduction to the world of radio 5/5
The "AM 685 EP" is available from Bandcamp here:
https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/album/am-685-ep
The "FM 101.4 EP" is available from Bandcamp here:
https://alfamatrix.bandcamp.com/album/fm-1014-ep
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