Sci-fi Disco, 60s Lounge And Berlin Techno

An odd recording came over our transom last month: the self-titled debut album/cassette of electronic musician Andi, which came out May 19 on the prestigious underground label Lady Boy Records. It’s a beautiful cassette that looks and sounds like an ancient relic of an almost forgotten past. Within it is a mix of retro-futuristic disco, sound box melodies, primitive drum machines and moving strings. It’s like a soundtrack for a 70s sci-fi flick that bombed when it came out but slowly became a cult classic over the passing years, or an old Atari game that only retro video game enthusiasts remember. In the album’s finest moments, pulsating analog keyboard arpeggios rub up against synthetic strings and conjure up visions of past synth maestros like Giorgio Moroder, Cerrone, Jan Hammer and Yellow Magic Orchestra. It’s often playful, like in opener “Fútúrismi femínismi” (“Futurism Feminism”), where strings play an Eastern-tinged melody that bounces off a juicy synth bass, but other times there is a tension between the sounds, like in “Á hraðferð” (“In a Hurry”), which could be the score to a chase scene from a ‘Miami Vice’ episode. ‘Andi’ is one of the most surprising and best Icelandic albums to come out this year; you can listen to it and buy it at the Lady Boy Records Bandcamp site, and contact them there to buy the physical cassette.

Sykur’s H.Dór delighted us with his first solo output a couple of months ago, and now he’s back with a sweet summery jam called “Sound Asleep.” Over bright sunny electronics, he sings about dreams of driving under the sea while his own backing vocals are enhanced by vocoders and talk boxes, doing his best Kraftwerk/Daft Punk impression.

Jón Lorange, half of weird-pop duo Nolo, just released a song under the moniker TheSuburbanSpaceman, aptly called “Woozy.” It’s like lo-fi 60s lounge/elevator/library music and his voice hovers above it like it’s called in from a phone booth. Listen to the song at his SoundCloud—it’s fresh and original and we’re excited for the upcoming album he’s working on.

Techno duet TRPTYCH just released a brand new song, video and website this month. The song, “Lust,” is basic in a good way, hard-hitting Berlin techno that kicks you in the gut with each bass drum so you can’t help but move your feet. It’s dark and decadent stuff, so no wonder TRPTYCH have been booked this summer to play a gig at the legendary Berlin club Berghain. Watch the video at their new homepage, TRPTYCH.com.