System Syn: Once Upon a Second Act...

(System Syn "Once Upon a Second Act...")

We were surprised and excited to receive this in the mail not too long ago! We did a bit of an unboxing video here! Yes, we like System Syn! When this album was announced to be released... there was a video teaser of all the tracks on the album... so I took a listen to that. It sounded great! So, I decided to hold off for a little bit to actually pick it up. After it had been released online (Bandcamp) in digital format, I took a closer listen... still sounds great! So... after ordering the Chris Connelly CD's from Wax Trax! Records, that same night I ordered the this System Syn album! Being that we are in a pandemic, it took a bit for it to get here, but... it arrived a few day's ago, and I'm currently listening to it!

(CD Artwork)

This album certainly does not disappoint!! It was actually better than what I thought it was gonna be! The production, the mixing, the mastering... all excellent, and very pristine, if I say so! Everything is fairly clear in the mixes, and is audible! System Syn's main songwriter is Clint Carney, and as with past releases (if I'm not mistaken, all of them), his production partner is Ted Phelps of the electro-industrial project Imperative Reaction! I'm not sure to what level Ted contributes to the System Syn releases, but he does do some production, as well as some programming on the releases as well!

(Tray card artwork)

I do think Clint has found his producer life partner... every System Syn release has always been solid, and the production, mixing and mastering are always excellent! There is definitely a consistent mix on all the tracks... and there is a certain production quality to each track... 

...As far as the tracks go... I would say the ones that stand out to me are: "The Wreckage", "Promise", "Once Upon a Second Act..", "We Had Time", and "Weightless"! And, my favorite track being "We Had Time"... As I stated above, the album is solid all the way through!

(Back cover artwork)

Clint has done something different this time around, rather than having the support from a record label behind him, he's gone totally independent, and has put this release out himself! From what I can tell he's started to self-release under the label name of Second Act Records! So, on that note... I would highly recommend checking this album out, and consider supporting them directly, by either purchasing this album, or any of their past albums on their site here! Or, purchasing digital copy of the album on Bandcamp here!

Hope you folks are well!

Twitch - No Face (Official Music Video)

Here's an experimental video that we did for the track "No Face" off our upcoming album "Databomb", check it out!!

Book: Electri_City by Rudi Esch

Finished reading the book "Electri_City" by Rudi Esch... took me a while to get through it, I've been slowly reading it since well... quite some time! "Electri_City" is about the history and birth of electronic music... where it all started and how it shaped future music including techno, electronic music and maybe even industrial, and pop. The book primarily centers around the city Dusseldorf... where Kraftwerk and other bands were birthed, like Neu!, La Dusseldorf, OMD, Propaganda... and all sort of other bands, including a very well known industrial band Die Krupps... which, one of the members (Rudi Esch) actually put together this book! It was very interesting reading it... to find out where electronic music was birthed... and how it evolved... the story is also slightly sad... even though electronic music was birthed in Dusseldorf... it seemed very bleak, and there were a lot of missteps by the bands involved. Granted they came to shape the beginnings of electronic music... but too be quite honest, the impression I got was, there actually wasn't a lot going on in the city... like, yes, very well known bands had came out of that city, but I kinda felt like it was one stumble to the next. I will say though, it was very interesting reading about the gear that these bands had been utilizing, and actually creating on their own, because what was out there, wasn't meeting their needs, so typically bands like Kraftwerk created their own instruments and pieces, or they and other bands modified commercial gear to work with other pieces of gear, so they could get the result they wanted! The book is written in interview style... Rudi Esch recorded interviews with various artists to tell the story of Dusseldorf and how electronic music came to be... then transcribed the audio into text and there you have it. You get to see the story through the eyes of each artist, that was a pioneer in the scene... and it is very conversational! I highly recommend picking up this book to read the history of electronic music, and if you read through to the end, they get into some of the key gear that was used to make the sounds and music of these pioneers! Anyway, as I said... I highly recommend this book! It's interesting to see bands that have had an influence on pop, synthpop, techno... and even industrial!!

Industrial Music Monday - NORILLAG

It's that day... and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The music is in the vein of experimental/industrial. The band consists of sole member: Natalia. This project is called: NORILLAG! Check it out!!





Can't find too much info on this particular project, but here is their Bandcamp:

norillag.bandcamp.com

Industrial Music Monday - WURM

What day is it..? Monday... What does that mean... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The music is in the vein of experimental/industrial/ambient. The project's sole member is: Art Black. This endeavor is called: WURM! Check it out!!!






wurm bandcamp

wurm Facebook

Industrial Music Monday - Needlespit

It's Monday, and you know what that means... Industrial!! This week we have a project out of Phoenix, Arizona. The music is in the vein of experimental electronic/industrial/noise. They are called: Needlespit! Check this project out!!





needlespit bandcamp

needlespit soundcloud

Needlespit Facebook

Industrial Music Monday - Solemn Shapes

You know what day it is!! And, that means... Industrial!! This week we have a band out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The music is in the vein of experimental/industrial/darkwave. The project consists of three members: Sco Sunset (synthesizers, drum machines, sequences), Melanie Foxfire (samples. synths), Candy Durant (vocals, lyrics). They are called: Solemn Shapes! Check them out!!!






solemnshapes bandcamp

solemnshapes.com

solemnshapes twitter

solemnshapes Facebook

solemnshapes Soundcloud

solemnshapes tumblr