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CULTURE VOYAGE - “GENESIS” Culture Voyage, a...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:33:19 -0500

CULTURE VOYAGE - “GENESIS”

Culture Voyage, a short-lived but aptly named VHS-wave act popularized in part by Synesthesiæ Films, is known for only about a handful of retro lo-fi synth-based jams, like “Digital Stargate”. This artist’s unique approach to that strain of electronic funk music, reminiscent of times past, is of the classic analog synth variety. Akin to the auditory approach and technique of artists like Boards of Canada or Com Truise, Culture Voyage is content in “Genesis” to sample found VHS footage and smear digital synth notes all over the sound palette. Synesthesiæ Films’ official video for “Genesis” mirrors the vintage feel of wonder and apprehension in the tune with a mish-mash of footage from 1978 Italian sci-fi film Starcrash. Amid the lasers, explosions, and scantily clad seventies hair ladies, the video for “Genesis” is a welcome backdrop to the tape reel electronics in the track. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of this brief phenomenon, Culture Voyage’s “Genesis” at his last.fm page. Grab the other songs while you’re there too, or visit Synesthesiæ Films for more music and videos along the same 80’s vein.

MP3 Download of “Genesis”, by Culture Voyage

NICOTEENBUZZ JUNE 13 MIXTAPE

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:55:40 -0500

NICOTEENBUZZ JUNE 13 MIXTAPE:

There’s this homie that we kick it with that goes by Nicoteenbuzz, and he’s one of our most trusted organic sources for legit new jams of the independent electronic ilk. He has a real nose for a wide variety of experimental jams, trading in everything from super radio friendly indietronic stuff like Passion Pit to the work of obscure bedroom vaporwavers like Computer Dreams. No one real person has been more instrumental in the creation of Tiananmen Square Dance than the man behind Nicoteenbuzz (and many, many other pseudonyms over the years). With that in mind, we’d like to give special attention to his latest free mix, the NICOTEENBUZZ JUNE 13 MIXTAPE. Featuring several new singles along with a handful of tried-and-true favorites, the many isolated strains resulting from that seminal summer of 2010 are all briefly represented here on Nicoteenbuzz’s latest free offering. Come for Clams Casino’s dark underground hip-hop and Wasted Nights’ nostalgic VHS-wave and stay for Com Truise’s warped synthwave and Ice Cream Social’s bite-size splashes of 64-bit synesthesiæ. Do tha right thing, and grab a free download of NICOTEENBUZZ JUNE 13 MIXTAPE. Afterwards, follow our good buddy on Twitter for more good recommendations.

Download here.

LUST & DREAMS WEST - “DRIVING...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:42:07 -0500

LUST & DREAMS WEST - “DRIVING PLEASURES”

Dreams West, one of our favorite VHS-wave artists, partnered up with fellow retro synth act Lust last summer to birth a limited edition collaborative cassette tape entitled 12:56. While the collection is essentially a split EP with a couple of remixes that nobody really needs to have in their life immediately, the closing track that’s credited to the twosome is an absolute stunner. “Driving Pleasures” showcases the seedy darkness of Lust’s synthwave exploits while also clearly referencing Dreams West’s Balearic inclinations. What begins with a couple of clean piano stabs progressively devolves into an onslaught of each artist’s finer talents, building in intensity and synchronization until the wall of sound towers bombastically over the listener. Gritty synth rhythm tracks duel with digital tropicalia until both acts quickly reach their respective limits, burning the entire island down in three minutes flat. 12:56 is great for the die-hard follower of either Lust or Dreams West, but we highly, highly recommend the outro track. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of “Driving Pleasures”, by Lust & Dreams West below, and then peruse each artist’s discography for more good tunes afterwards. You know we won’t pass up the opportunity to put in a solid plug for Dreams West’s .

MP3 Download of “Driving Pleasures”, by Lust & Dreams West (from 12:56)

Future Unlimited, despite their limited discography, can really...

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:00:00 -0500

Future Unlimited, despite their limited discography, can really bring on the 80’s new wave vibe. With singles like “Golden” and “Lightweight Eyes”, the Nashville duo has proven that they have the songwriting chops and mastery over their instruments to stand alongside retro hi-fi futurists like Crozet, M83, and Mirror Kisses. With “Calling (Intro)”, we get to vicariously experience the opening moments of a live Future Unlimited experience with an epic, foreboding instrumental piece that sets the cold, melodramatic mood for a John Hughes-esque 80’splosion. The restraint between the lines of icy rhythm and lead synth tracks is underscored as the jam progresses with the addition of a telltale bassline. Considering the scope and expanse of the overly emotional teenage dreams of that highly missed era, it’s only fitting that Future Unlimited’s unofficial live intro piece be packed to the gills with pathos. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of “Calling (Intro)”, by Future Unlimited. If you like what you hear, be sure to check out the aforementioned singles, what we imagine are the tunes that come immediately after today’s featured track on the set list. Then cry yourself to sleep, because these fellows will never play in your town.

MP3 Download of “Calling (Intro)”, by Future Unlimited

MACINTOSH PLUS - “リサフランク420 - 現代のコンピュー” OMG...

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 22:25:28 -0500

MACINTOSH PLUS - “リサフランク420 - 現代のコンピュー”

OMG We’re really showing our age by posting this jam, considering that Macintosh Plus’s Floral Shoppe is like the In the Aeroplane Over the Sea of vaporwave albums. Other than James Ferraro’s Far Side Virtual, no other release is as definitive of that mysterious experimental electronic music genre as is 2011’s Floral Shoppe. One of the myriad aliases of the alien creature behind Vektroid, Dstnt, and 情報デスクVirtual, Macintosh Plus simply has the distinction of being the one go-to project for internet dwellers that want to egg the faces of fans of vaporwave and its resultant micro-genres. “リサフランク420 - 現代のコンピュー”, which roughly translated means “420 Modern Computing Lisa Frank”, is one of the earlier tracks on the album, being a memorable fusion of MIDI-based mood music and chopped and screwed soul samples. True to form, the lion’s share of the tune is minimal and benign, reminiscent of the soundtracks of early 90’s DOS-based point-and-click adventures by the likes of Brøderbund or Humongous Entertainment. The plastic smile prison erected by the sterile vibes of what is ironically modeled after the hold music of the mid-90’s does very little in the way of comforting those of us staring down the crevasses of the uncanny valley itself. That said, an endearing synth whine, along with Diana Ross’s warm, funky vocalization really holds the song together and breathes a lot of life into it. This is not just a terrible 3-dimensional facade and some chopped and screwed lo-fi boogie from the early 80’s. This is music for a carefully manicured domicile for well-to-do humans. It is music that our eventual robot masters will be using to enslave us. Despite sneaking suspicions, we will probably feel good about it. Do tha right thing and give in to PrismCorp™ Virtual Enterprises with a free MP3 download of “リサフランク420 - 現代のコンピュー”, by Macintosh Plus. Afterwards, visit Vektroid’s Tumblr or Beer on the Rug Records’ Bandcamp page for more satisfyingly dehumanizing elevator synthwave.

MP3 Download of “リサフランク420 - 現代のコンピュー”, by Macintosh Plus (from Floral Shoppe)

DEZ HARLEY - “COMMON SCENTS” Produced by legendary...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 21:40:00 -0500

DEZ HARLEY - “COMMON SCENTS”

Produced by legendary French beatmaker Onra, Dez Harley is back with a new single, entitled “Common Scents”. Comparable to young, tongue-in-cheek nerd rap acts like Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt, Dez Harley is a blood-in-blood-out (albeit lesser known) member of that new wave gang of urban producers and lyricists with ironic overtones. This guy is worlds more legit, though. Having already taken us to toke town and back over the top of Com Truise’s “Controlpop”, Dez’s latest anthem channels the vaporwave vibes of artists like Lasership Stereo and Luxury Elite, throwing in a trip-hop tempo twist, and stomping all over it with his goofy rhymes about the myriad facets of the weed smoking lifestyle. Between a curbside diatribe on the virtues of hemp, the chill life, and the repurposed retro sampling, the jam is an absolute slam dunk in our book. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of Dez Harley’s “Common Scents” below, and be sure to check out the rest of his repertoire as well. He is definitely the coolest, most interesting rapper we’ve ever heard, bar none.

MP3 Download of “Common Scents”, by Dez Harley

Collage Calamity

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:49:00 -0500
Collage Calamity:

Gloria Supatra Bhargava is one of us: a twenty-something corporate shill by day and vibrant artistic mind after-hours. While not whiling away the hours at what is probably a very lucrative career with advertising, Gloria combines vintage photography with surreal landscapes and galactic portraiture. As you well know, we love collage art at Tiananmen Square Dance. It’s what we know best: recombined samples from countless different bygone eras, all collected together as a cohesive, hyperreal mash-up. Collage Calamity is Gloria Bhargava’s outlet, and we hope you enjoy her work as much as we do. Below are some of our favorites. Do tha right thing, and check out her portfolio, and be sure to repost on your favorite social network if you like what you see.

“Whatever Happened to Analog?”

“Power Source”

“Afro Heartbeat”

Mirror Kisses’ latest release, Heartbeats, became...

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 19:54:00 -0500

Mirror Kisses’ latest release, Heartbeats, became officially available for purchase one month ago. His third full-length, Harrisonburg’s George Clanton (Mirror Kisses) appealed to his fans a few months ago to fund his Kickstarter page to get the album pressed to vinyl, and it appears that the goal was met, as hard 12” copies are slated to hit the mail rooms on or around June 10th. Building upon the dark 80’s-inflected dancefloor vibes of previous releases Soaking Wet and especially Bad Dreams, this collection of new wave numbers kicks off with an impassioned bang with single “Runaways”, released well in advance with the followup dreamwave ballad “Kameron”. Our favorite lesser-known standout, “Heart Beats Black”, is the unofficial title track, and with it comes a decidedly electronic edge to this new release. Soaked in the sound of Japan’s late 2000’s electronic shoegaze movement, the jam additionally features woozy synth tracks that one would only expect to hear on some VHS-laden beat tape from the summer of Washed Out and Neon Indian’s reign. “Shut Me Down”, another high point on Heartbeats, turns up the tempo, featuring Clanton’s retro crooning and whirling digital instrumentation in the vein of 18 Carat Affair’s decayed tape synth snippets. Upon first and second listen, it appears that Mirror Kisses’ sound is slowly becoming more and more heavily influenced by the sample-based vintage compositions of today’s rapidly growing posse of synthwave and vaporwave acts. The bass-heavy new wave guitarwork of Bad Dreams is just an afterthought here, as the whole New Order-and Pet Shop Boys-influenced darkwave/synthpop scene seems to be on its way out. Or at least it is for George Clanton. Either way, Heartbeats is a solid mixture of passionate uptempo bangers and slow 80’s reverberations, and we felt that it was well worth our money. If you’re a fan of Crozet, Lust for Youth, or Violens, do tha right thing and grab a free MP3 download of our favorite track from the album, “Heart Beats Black”, below. Afterwards, we highly recommend that you buy the album if you like what you hear, and grab a paid copy of Bad Dreams as well.

MP3 Download of “Heart Beats Black”, by Mirror Kisses (from Heartbeats)

This year-old synthwave jam by Bobby Tank is the stuff of Osamu...

Thu, 30 May 2013 21:40:00 -0500

This year-old synthwave jam by Bobby Tank is the stuff of Osamu Tezuka’s hyperactive dreams. While we’re often satisfied with nothing more than a faint whiff of that retro vibe, occasionally something is released that is so epic in scope and so all-encompassing in tone that it will probably never leave the rotation. Occasionally, such a monolithic masterpiece may even become the new go-to jam for an entire genre. The hi-fi action-packed neo-funk strain of today’s synthwave scene dominated by acts like Futurecop! could do to welcome another big player, and we believe that Bobby Tank is that contender. Musically trained and boasting affiliation with acts such as Rustie and Hudson Mohawke, Bobby Tank keeps it light and crisp in “Face of Love” with sharp, clean cut waves of synth and reverb-soaked vintage percussion. Additionally, the sass and soul of the reoccurring refrain coupled with the never ending energy really ranks “Face of Love” among the most fist-pumpingly definitive products of today’s modernized take on yesterday’s vibes. If you’re nearly finished with lazily sampled two-minute vaporwave slices of drudgery, or if you’re searching for something that’s iconic amongst all of the experimental electronic clusterfuckery, then you need this. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of Bobby Tank’s “Face of Love” immediately, and then do humanity a favor and check out the rest of his work. We really really really want it all to be as good as this track.

MP3 Download of “Face of Love”, by Bobby Tank

COM TRUISE - “WIP (‘13)” Heeeeey, lookey...

Wed, 29 May 2013 09:36:00 -0500

COM TRUISE - “WIP (‘13)”

Heeeeey, lookey there. The same guy who posted the video rip of Lapti’s “Don’t U Know?” is the only guy that currently has a video of Com Truise’s latest B-side. I have a feeling we should probably download everything we see on Distapez’s Youtube channel. Either way, though, the internet’s hottest bringer of retro vibes has a new unreleased jam out, “WIP (‘13)”, which most likely refers to the Soho location at which he played yesterday, but may or may not also stand for an actual work in progress. I think we can rule out “women-in-prison” or “wank in public”, so hopefully the naming also subtly indicates the opening throes of a brand new synthwave-meets-downtempo release for Seth Haley (Com Truise). In the featured tune, slow, lighthearted, reverberating synth notes in the vein of “Cathode Girls” build gradually into Com Truise’s trademark arcade room flurry of pixelated mid-fi SFX. Halfway through, after a short refractory period, a laser-etched bassline battles through an asteroid belt of monolithic electronics as the transmission gradually fades up and out. Do tha right thing, and get a taste of “WIP (‘13)”, Mr. Truise’s latest public offering below the jump. Be sure to acquaint yourself with the rest of his portfolio thereafter, if you haven’t already. His latest release, In Decay, was easily one of our favorite full-lengths of 2012, so getcha some!

MP3 Download of “WIP (‘13)”, by Com Truise

LAPTI - “DON’T U KNOW?” Russia is really...

Mon, 27 May 2013 20:21:00 -0500

LAPTI - “DON’T U KNOW?”

Russia is really making some icy splashes, with several notable artists like Capo Blanco, Lapti, and Summer of Haze repping the cold dark motherland all around the hipster blogosphere. Lapti, one of our favorite new acts on the scene, has been featured prominently lately at the blog and on the mixes due to the assumptive nature of his reworked hi-fi sampling. “Don’t U Know?”, though little more than a one-to-two-minute slice of funk life, perfectly freeze frames that soulful boogie vibe prevalent among much of the Juicy and Keats//Collective crews. Eschewing the intentionally degraded audio styling of vaporwave acts like Luxury Elite or Miami Vice, Lapti prefers to keep it clear as a bell, yet dripping with a sheen of subtle retro production techniques. Imagine a less chopped and screwed Spend the Night With Games, and that’s what you get with Lapti: a flash point waking synthwave dream with unobtrusive improvements that remain hidden at first blush. The best part is that the bite-size nature of little clips like “Don’t U Know?” practically demand repeat listens. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of Lapti’s “Don’t U Know?” below, and download or purchase everything else you can get your hands on by the Muscovite wunderkind ASAP.

MP3 Download of “Don’t U Know?”, by Lapti

VANGUARD - “ECHOHUNTER” At Tiananmen Square Dance,...

Sun, 26 May 2013 18:08:00 -0500

VANGUARD - “ECHOHUNTER”

At Tiananmen Square Dance, we’re always sure to cite our sources, and we’d just like to let you know that if you haven’t already checked out DjemUK’s 80’s Dreamz mix at his Soundcloud page, then you need to get after it now. The featured Vanguard jam, along with several other VHS-wave tunes are all there, compiled for your convenience, and many of them are even free downloads. The organic electronic vibe in “Echohunter” starts slowly with a cascading ambient digital rain, building both in volume and intensity, reaching an absolutely supernatural high shortly after the one-minute mark. Sonorous vocal samples precede the meat of “Echohunter”, as if an annunciation of the glory to come. A bassline straight out of an early 80’s wet boogie dream underlies the reprise of some of the most truly triumphant vocals we have ever had the pleasure of hearing, and a lo-fi found monologue walks us back and out abruptly after the track is chopped and screwed into computerized oblivion. Boasting a prominent sample of Alexander O’Neal’s 1986 R&B hit “If You Were Here Tonight”, the song is perfect for fans of the earthy downtempo of Tycho, the dark witch house of Friendzone, or any particularly bouncy vintage synthwave jam by the likes of Lapti or Capo Blanco. Do tha right thing, and check out Vanguard’s “Echohunter” after the bump, and you can even download the free EP on which it is featured here, if you so desire. Of course, we also recommend you check out DjemUK’s 80’s Dreamz playlist too. There’s some truly good shit there.

MP3 Download of “Echohunter”, by Vanguard (from the Echo EP)

VHS WAVE VOL THREE

Sat, 25 May 2013 22:41:00 -0500
VHS WAVE VOL THREE:

After our hiatus, we re-arrive with the third installment of our new and exciting VHS Wave series. We owe our readership and listenership (?) an apology due to the unannounced vacation, but we are sure you understand. If it makes you feel better, we did our homework, and we are very happy with and proud of VHS Wave Vol Three, featuring the most tracks on any mix released to date (barring double releases, of course). This worthy entry into the Tiananmen Square Dance canon boasts more than its fair share of recent synthwave singles and old vaporwave and witch house faves. Kicking the party off with an overlooked VHS-wave oldie by Culture Voyage and bookending the experience with a mind-blowingly hazy banger by Friendzone, this mix is among our most treasured so far. Many little known artists from AMDiscs made their way onto the playlist, due to the timely release of their 2013 mixtape, so we’re happy to spread their love. Additionally, look for new singles by Luxury Elite, Airbird & Napolian, and Phaseone. We dredged up everything from the retro IDM-influenced synthwave in Dreams West’s “” to Giraffage’s glo-fi rework of Owl Eyes’ “Closure”. The varied representation of our favorite experimental electronic music styles is here in full force this month, so we’re sure you’ll pardon our releasing it a little on the late side. It’s well worth the wait. Download it here, or stream it at our Bandcamp page if you like to keep your hard drive uncluttered. As per usual, we highly appreciate your listening, and we sincerely hope that we broaden your musical horizons or at least add to your growing collection. If you enjoy what we have compiled, repost on your favorite social network. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more regular updates, and above all, support the featured artists financially. Buy their albums, attend their shows, and fund their Kickstarter projects. Without them, TSQ would probably just be a bunch of Nickelback songs.

SIDE A

1.   CULTURE VOYAGE digital stargate

2.   POORSCHE good anna da bad

3.   HORSE HEAD we can win

4.   DREAMS WEST
5.   ESPRIT 空想 cruiser

6.   MIDNIGHT RUNNERS tell me

7.   LUXURY ELITE secret

8.   DIANA born again

9.   TAPES slow touch

10. AIRBIRD & NAPOLIAN in the zone

11. MIAMI VICE skymall™

12. JACOB 2-2 videolympics

SIDE B

13. AIRSPORTS dubbed in 3D

14. SUPREME CUTS & HALEEK MAUL ball

15. JOGGING HOUSE you don’t talk

16. THE PILLARS OF CREATION gloom

17. OWL EYES closure (giraffage remix)

18. CHUCK PERSON eccojam B7

19. SAINT PEPSI balancing towers

20. RIMAR all we have

21. PHASEONE bianca

22. LAPTI featuring ol

23. SECRET SCHOOL ghost ocean (oh, the world!)

24. FRIENDZONE  !!-major

Download here.

THE PILLARS OF CREATION - “GLOOM” We’ve been...

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:12:00 -0500

THE PILLARS OF CREATION - “GLOOM”

We’ve been exploring the back catalogs of several little-known bedroom synthwave artists lately, and we found an old release by The Pillars of Creation yesterday that we’d like to shine a light on today. The Soft Sound EP was released by Chicago’s Marc Zielinski (The Pillars of Creation) to little to no acclaim just over two years ago, due only really to the bite-size niche market that consumes these kinds of warped lo-fi synth jams. The track at the tail end of the four-track EP, “Gloom”, samples Reflex’s proto-chillwave “Night Jam A” as its base melody, building upon it with layers and layers of melted loops and whirling lead synth tracks. All in all, the rework alters the original tune enough to merit its own acclaim, creating a new beast out of Reflex’s seminal pre-Neon Indian synth track. Come for the funky key-bass and stay for the splashy, smeary surround sound synesthesiæ brought on by The Pillars of Creation’s notable 2011 song “Gloom”, which is anything but morose in tone. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of this oft-overlooked jam gem, and then do some traveling into the deep space that is The Pillars’ repertoire of self-released full-lengths and EP’s.

MP3 Download of “Gloom”, by The Pillars of Creation (from Soft Sound EP)

MOOMIN - “YOU” This jam came out two years ago....

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:20:00 -0500

MOOMIN - “YOU”

This jam came out two years ago. Considering our penchant for minimalism, you would have thought we would have posted it before, but nope. That is an error we now intend to remedy. Despite the myriad club, house, ambient, and IDM artists out there creating simple build-and-release-based loops, very rarely does one stumble upon an artist or tune that creates a distinctly memorable moment with all of the subtlety that one would expect out of that brand of electronic music. With Moomin’s “You”, a warm, gentle desperation is created, built, and sustained over the course of nearly seven minutes with nothing but ambling rhythm synth loops, four-on-the-floor deep house beats, and a persistent digital whine. That is literally the entirety of the track, but you have to hear it to believe it. Named for the fairy tale characters featured in Swedish-Finn artist Tove Jansson’s children’s books, Berlin’s Moomin manages to tenderly captivate while remaining perfectly energetic and danceable without getting boring at all (at least, in our opinion). Along with greats like The Field and The Sight Below, what makes his minimalistic electronic music so impressive is that so much can be built from so little, and with 2011’s “You”, Moomin succeeds. So, despite the age of this song, do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download after the jump. Afterwards, you can purchase The Story About You via Amazon, iTunes, or from Smallville Records.

MP3 Download of “You”, by Moomin (from The Story About You)

SAINT PEPSI - “BALANCING TOWERS” AMDiscs is a...

Mon, 13 May 2013 20:30:00 -0500

SAINT PEPSI - “BALANCING TOWERS”

AMDiscs is a bedroom record label known (along with Beer on the Rug and Fortune 500) for its expanding portfolio of artists and releases in the vaporwave vein. Featured on AMDiscs’ 2013 compilation, this particular jam by Saint Pepsi is of course no exception to that generalization. Saint Pepsi seems to be the new flavor of the month, especially among followers of that incredibly weird but incredibly chill sounding microgenre of experimental electronic music. “Balancing Towers” is essentially just chopped and screwed early 80’s synth-funk, but the effect on the subconscious that this increasingly popular slice of VHS-wave has is definitely noteworthy. Where witch house once turned culture on its head with its chopped and screwed covers of pop hits, the vaporwave vibe of artists like Miami Vice and Vektroid crafts a particularly sterile retro-futuristic vision. With “Balancing Towers”, Saint Pepsi simultaneously reminds us of the duality of high class living with vintage bassline, glittering electric piano, and soulful musing. Despite the nostalgic smell of success present in the slow jam, one is unable to shake the sneaking feeling that’s all just a pixelated house of cards, waiting to crash like a cocaine-fueled stock market bought and sold exclusively by labor saving devices. Do tha right thing, and grab a free MP3 download of Saint Pepsi’s smooth retro track “Balancing Towers”. Afterwards, check out the rest of his repertoire, or definitely check out AMDiscs’ 2013 playlist for more similar songs.

MP3 Download of “Balancing Towers”, by Saint Pepsi

Tsq Vol II

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:04:00 -0500

Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about broken links and requests for working links for the second volume of our free monthly mixes. Because we appreciate your interest, instead of just fixing the .rar links in old posts, we decided to compile the whole set here for your convenience. If you’ve missed the window of opportunity to enjoy some of our older playlists, just click the cover artwork to download, or press “stream” below it to visit the corresponding Bandcamp page. Which is your favorite?

Download / Stream

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Download / Stream Disc 1

Download / Stream Disc 2

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The music of Miami Vice perfectly encapsulates that smooth...

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:52:00 -0500

The music of Miami Vice perfectly encapsulates that smooth 80’s vibe that we know and love, reserved only for the upper echelon of society. While he’ll never be able to top Jan Hammer’s original compositions for the titular TV series, the vaporwave artist will nonetheless regale us into infinity with his retro DOS-based re-imaginings of that golden age. “Yacht”, our favorite track from newly released Smooth Nights, ambles along haphazardly, like a fun drunk. Reminiscent of an 18 Carat Affair vignette, it’s akin to a really shitty ghettoblaster recording of that snapshot moment in your favorite tune that really gets your heart pumping. The pastel-colored retro synth tracks trip all over the bassline and reverb-soaked percussion in what amounts to the “ringtone worthy” section of some lost one-hit wonder. Miami Vice manages in the space of only a minute-and-a-half to remind us with “Yacht” what we dearly miss about the garish elitist capitalistic excess of the decade to end all decades. Do tha right thing, and grab a free download of Miami Vice’s Smooth Nights right this second, at least to have “Yacht” available at your beck and call for that next house party. We also highly recommend his previous release, Culture Island, if you like that airless, perfectly benign corporatist tone.

MP3 Download of “Yacht”, by Miami Vice (from Smooth Nights)

Hi, I was looking through your archives and noticed that the links for TSQ VOL ONE to TSQ VOL TWELVE are no longer hosted anywhere. Is there a chance you can add them to your bandcamp page?

Thu, 09 May 2013 20:24:58 -0500

You bet. We have needed to take care of that for a while. We appreciate your interest. We’ll address the issue this weekend.

Synesthesiæ Films Teasers

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:14:21 -0500
Synesthesiæ Films Teasers:

Synesthesiæ Films is not only our single favorite Youtube channel, but is also the creator of the official music videos for many of our favorite artists. Utilizing retro found footage and heavy visual editing, Synesthesiæ Films crafts nostalgic video montages for the vintage vibes purveyed by acts like 18 Carat Affair, Holy Other, Klockhaus, and many more. Periodically, they’ll put together a very short “station ID”, melding a choice cut from some lucky VHS-wave artist with washed out footage or decades old vector art. Do tha right thing, and enjoy these teasers created by Synesthesiæ Films, and then subscribe to their Youtube channel for more creative visual insight into the best of today’s electronic acts. You can even download their podcast mixtapes, deemed “Colourcasts”, at their Soundcloud page.

Music: Culture Voyage - “Digital Stargate”

Music: Com Truise - “Colorvision”

Music: Bibio - “Vertical Helical Stan”

Music: Letherette - “Montego Fuzz”