The Swedish Railway Orchestra – Dance To The Drum Machine LP (Blowtorch Records)

We have another excellent release on our pages today from the batch of records sent by Blowtorch Records. If you caught up with my writings from yesterday, you probably already learned Blowtorch Records is an Irish record label specializing in indie, alternative, synth, electronic music, and other similar genres. Dance To The Drum Machine is the latest full-length release by The Swedish Railway Orchestra, an Irish electronic music project entirely operated by Rob Smith. The Swedish Railway Orchestra released an impressive number of recordings in just five years. Since 2017, TSRO has published full-lengths such as This Is A Dream, Remixes Vol. 1, This Is A Mixtape, a deluxe edition of This Is A Mixtape, a self-titled album, a deluxe edition of the self-titled album, The past Is Unpredictable: Select Electronic Recordings 2016 – 2021, and the beforementioned album I will be talking about today.

Dance To The Drum Machine carries ten new compositions that serve as an appropriate continuation of The Swedish Railway Orchestra’s previous releases. For those stumbling upon this electronic artist for the first time, The Swedish Railway Orchestra solely relies upon several complementary music genres, such as dance, house, and techno. Soundwise, it seems that The Swedish Railway Orchestra’s main interests are the late eighties and early to late nineties electro scenes. You’ll also notice many similarities with something psych, synth, and disco artists from the seventies would eventually record during their careers. The Swedish Railway Orchestra doesn’t escape far from the modern sound either, but it seems he’s focusing on the retro-sounding electronics.

After all, his sonic weaponry proves my point. This highly creative artist continuously experiments and produces music by using ARP Odyssey, Roland TR-808, Korg MS20, Moog Sub 37, and Poison-202. Besides rhythmic sequencers, monophonic, duophonic, paraphonic analog, and midi synthesizers, The Swedish Railway Orchestra also incorporates analog drums, bass, and guitars. These combinations of analog, synth and electronic instruments work to the advantage of this material and perhaps are mainly responsible for such a characteristic, retro-sounding ambiance. Rob Smith gradually builds a hypnotic, addictive, cathartic atmosphere upon moderate rhythmic sequences decorated with other percussive instruments and elements. The warm-sounding basslines simultaneously support those rhythmic maneuvers and provide sonic background for melodies, harmonies, and themes performed by the beforementioned synths. Each number carries a unique ambiance, but perfectly fits the remainder of the material. Dance To The Drum Machine is a wisely assembled electronic music album worth checking out. Head to Blowtorch Records for more information about ordering this gem on vinyl.