Prolific German producer Luke Tangerine returns with another masterpiece, “Synthedelic,” an eight-track odyssey into marvelous synth music. Accompanied by Robson Darker, a longtime contributor and collaborator, Tangerine guides your listening apparatus not only through sonic foundations that defined his sound over the years but also many innovations that make “Synthedelic” so catchy and irresistible. It’s a fine piece of sonic artistry where all of Luke Tangerine’s interests collide harmoniously, creating a perfect soundscape that will resonate with the broader auditorium. Our loyal readers already had a chance to read about Tangerine’s wild ride through various music styles, but for those tuning in for the first time, you may expect nothing but sheer quality delivered by one of the finest songwriters, musicians, and producers in contemporary synth music. However, his style goes way beyond plain synth sound. Surely, there are many experimentations with synthwave and synthpop, but Luke Tangerine and Robson Darker take a deep dive into known and unknown territories, exploring music genres like new wave, post-punk, goth rock, eighties rock, electro-pop, and various electronic music subgenres. As usual, all these experimentations resulted in a collection of songs that will not only appeal to synth music fans but all music enthusiasts craving cleverly assembled and flawlessly performed music.
With “Magic Moment,” a perfect introduction to this material, Luke Tangerine and Robson Darker immediately showcase their innovation, creativity, and versatility. Besides some recognizable synth maneuvers, you’ll notice the incorporation of new wave and post-punk music. These details are hearable in the arrangements, but also through guitar synth works. The interplay between these two instruments shapes a perfect backdrop for Darker’s incredible voice, creating a luxuriant soundscape that grabs you by the collar and carries you even after the last note and beat end. It’s a marvelous introduction and a showcase of what you might expect from the remainder of the material. However, the upcoming tracks carry even more sonic delicacies and surprises. “Toy” leans much more towards soulful, synthy, eighties electro-funk waters, where Luke Tangerine merged many profoundly complex instrumentations. These intricate orchestrations are hearable in each layer during every segment. You’ll notice how the excellent, well-accentuated beats propel the song to new heights, serving as a perfect backbone that holds the remainder of the instrumentations together while the warm-sounding, sequenced basslines give that sense of subtle heaviness and depth. The rhythm section sounds superb throughout the entire track. In the meantime, the layers of intricate synth leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, chord progressions, and ambiances shine in the limelight alongside Robson Darker’s whispery voice, which is vividly hearable during the verses. Still, his impressive vocal range shines through during the choruses, seamlessly balancing low, mid, and high notes while offering more than necessary emotional depth to the song. It’s also good to mention that “Toy” shines with some eighties pop elements, as the chorus carries so many sonic ingredients borrowed from this particular music genre. It’s unquestionably one of the standouts from this material.
This epic sonic journey becomes even more interesting over time thanks to tracks like “Allein,” a magnificent display of Tangerine’s interest in eighties music. This composition goes even deeper into the synth-pop, synth wave, new wave, new romantics, and pop elements by delivering some of the finest instrumentations you’ll hear in a while. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver showcases all the time, effort, and dedication spent in assembling such a passionate, soulful, powerful track. The entire amalgam of melodic sequences and themes, guitar accentuations and leads, fascinating bass virtuosities, and punchy rhythmic patterns complement Darkers ability to command attention and guide listeners from scratch to finish without skipping a note or beat. “Neonlicht” is another radio hit, with a catchy, memorable, engaging, irresistible, hypnotic main theme that immediately grabs your attention. The rhythmic patterns hold everything together by delivering so many energetic, profoundly detailed, well-accentuated beats, breaks, fills, and other acrobatics while there is a subtly distorted low-end undercurrent which serves as a perfect contrast to the clean, polished, high-pitched synth maneuvers. It’s an exceptional song worth revisiting every time you desire to dance. “In den Tiefen der Nacht” was one of the introductiory singles that signified what listeners might expect from this material, but it unquestionably differs from the remainder of the material. This particular song demonstrates Tangerine and Darker’s ability to expertly incorporate some of the finest properties of post-punk, goth rock, and dark pop music onto a rock-solid synthwave base. All elements you heard in previous tracks are still here, but “In den Tiefen der Nacht” has a half-time tempo and slightly darker atmosphere where melodies are more calm, soothing, relaxing, and ethereal. It’s one of those songs where Robson Darker feels most comfortable, as he delivers more passionate, sincere, confident vocal harmonies that perfectly match the song’s ambiance. It’s another standout for sure where the versatility of both artists shines.
“Lights Out” gets back onto more energetic tracks, but with more Kraftwerk-inspired sonic maneuvers. It’s nearly mindblowing how Tangerine combines all those seventies electronic music elements with generous servings of eighties synth and new wave. There’s a particular psychedelic element included along the way, something you usually could hear in Krautrock music. He also threw in some details and nuances that might remind some listeners of seventies disco music. It’s a marvelous composition that brings more diversity and versatility to this already luxurious material and one of those tracks where Tangerine showcases all his brilliance as a highly experienced songwriter, composer, and producer. “Magic Moment” brings more post-punk, goth rock, and indie rock to the table, but with some exceptional nods to shoegaze and dream pop music. These are the moments where the reverby arpeggiated and regular chord progressions delivered on acoustic guitar resonate the most alongside subtle, moderate beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. It’s another track where Robson Darker’s outstanding vocal range comes upfront, showcasing all those beautiful vocal harmonies that undoubtedly spice things up and elevate this song on an entirely new level. “To Be Continued…” signifies a closure to this excellent material with a more cinematic ambient approach to synthwave music. The heavy, moderate electronic beats complement all those saxophone themes and guitar leads while the synth basslines give that more than necessary grit and punch. It’s a perfect closure of a marvelous EP.
“Synthedelic” demonstrates two exceptional artists doing what they’re doing best, and that’s writing, composing, and performing music with all their heart and soul. As soon as you press play, you’ll notice how much heart and soul they poured into each composition, and their effort won’t go unnoticed. With eight songs like these, they are once again positioning themselves as standout acts in a synthwave world, repeatedly proving that this longevous genre still has so much to offer. You should check out “Synthedelic” as soon as possible. It’s available on all streaming platforms.
Thoughts Words Action 