Hi all!
It's weekend finally, yay! So to start the weekend neatly, I'll bring you two things: Interview with Heatwave and review of his latest album
It's weekend finally, yay! So to start the weekend neatly, I'll bring you two things: Interview with Heatwave and review of his latest album
INTERVIEW
WITH MARKUS SPILLNER, WHO HAS LAUNCHED THE PROJECT HEATWAVE TOGETHER
WITH RICK TURNER
I
MET RICK SHORTLY AFTER HIS CRASH INTO THIS CENTURY. HE WAS SITTING
AT THE COUNTER OF MY MOST FAVOURITE PUB. WE CAME QUICKLY INTO
CONVERSATION. THE MATTER OF FACT THAT I WAS WORKING AS A MUSIC
PRODUCER FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS TURNED ON RICKS INTERESTS FOR THE
MUSIC OF OUR DECADE, IN THE BEGINNING WE MET ONCE IN A WHILE IN MY
LOCAL STUDIO. RICK WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY THE HANDLING AND THE STATE
OF ART ACCORDING THE TECHNOLOGY ;-)
2.
It really has that 80's feel to it and the visuals really suit it
well. Why this synthpop genre?
I AM A BIG FAN
OF THE 80S MUSIC AND RICK WAS ALSO THRILLED VERY FAST, WE DECIDED TO
KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE USING SOUNDS OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE TO
CREATE OUR OWN INTERPRETATION.
3.
What was the first album you bought and what was the most influental
one?
I
THINK THE FIRST VINYL I BOUGHT WAS “MOTI SPECIAL (COLD DAYS HOT
NIGHTS)”. FURTHER I WAS FOR SURE STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY MANY OTHER
DIFFERENT ARTISTS, GENRES AND DECADES OF TIME.
5.
What is your equipment of choice?
WHEN RICK GOT HERE, FROM THE
FUTURE, HE WASN´T ALLOWED TO TAKE A LOT OF BAGGAGE ON THE TRIP. SO
HE HAD TO USE THE OLD FASHIONED MUSIC INSTRUMENTS OF "THIS
TIME" .. AT FIRST HE HAD TO GET USED TO IT, SINCE HE WASN´T
USED TO USING HIS HANDS TO CREATE MUSIC..., BUT AS SOON AS HE GOT
THE HANG OF IT.. HE STARTED LIKING THE, IN HIS EYES, ANTIQUE
MACHINES.. HIS FAVOURITES ARE: ROLAND JUNO 60, SH-101, TR-707,
KORG MONO/POLY & DW-6000, ETC....
6.
How long have you been making music?
I
HAVE BEEN PRODUCING ELECTRONIC MUSIC FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW. RICK
JUST ENTERED THE WORLD OF MUSIC PRODUCTION / SOUND DESIGN WHEN HE
ARRIVED IN THIS CENTURY.
7.What
got you into making music in the first place?
AS
I MENTIONED BEFORE I HAD SEVERAL RELEASES WITH DIFFERENT OTHER
PROJECTS. THESE WERE ALWAYS RELEASED ON SMALL LABELS THAT ONLY
BROUGHT LITTLE ATTENTION ON THESE PROJECTS. UNFORTUNATELY I THINK
MANY SMALLER LABELS ARE UNABLE TO BUILD UP ARTIST.S.. OR JUST DONT
WANT TO SUPPORT THEM THAT MUCH ... THEREFOR BANDCAMP IS A GREAT
ALTERNATIVE. WE ARE ALWAYS INFORMED ON OUR SALES AND ON OUR
“MARKETING ACTIVITIES”.
9.
How easy is it these days to get noticed as independent artist?
IT'S NOT EASY!
;-) VARIOUS ONLINE NETWORKS HELP US TO HAVE A BETTER OUTREACH, BUT
WE ARE ALWAYS ADDICTED TO THE GOODWILL OF LISTENERS IN ADDITION TO
SUPPORT OR “ADVERTISE” OUR PROJECT.
A "LIKE" OR A "COMMENT" ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM LIKE FACEBOOK, SOUNDCLOUD, YOUTUBE OR BANDCAMP, EG ARE ALWAYS VERY NICE AND WELCOME, AS WELL BUT TO REACH A GREATER AUDIENCE WE NEED TO DEPEND ON THE PEOPLE. THEREFORE WE ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR EVERY ATTENTION, SUCH AS THIS INTERVIEW OR ALSO REVIEWS ON THE RELEVANT PAGES.
A "LIKE" OR A "COMMENT" ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM LIKE FACEBOOK, SOUNDCLOUD, YOUTUBE OR BANDCAMP, EG ARE ALWAYS VERY NICE AND WELCOME, AS WELL BUT TO REACH A GREATER AUDIENCE WE NEED TO DEPEND ON THE PEOPLE. THEREFORE WE ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR EVERY ATTENTION, SUCH AS THIS INTERVIEW OR ALSO REVIEWS ON THE RELEVANT PAGES.
I
THINK I GOT STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY “THE REAL 80S” ALSO THE WHOLE
GENERATION EVEN FILM DIRECTORS AND MANY OTHER ARTISTS GOT INFLUENCED
BY THAT BIG HYPE WICH IS KIND OF OVER HONORED. IN THE STATE OF ART
ELECTRONIC MUSIC SEEMS TO BE SOME KIND OF TIMELESS IN A CULTURAL
WAY. NEVERTHELESS ALSO COMPARED TO MANY OTHER DIFFERENT THINGS THE
SOUND OF THE EIGHTIES IS COMING BACK AGAIN IN SOME KIND OF A
RENAISSANCE. THIS DECADE SUPLLIES A LOT OF
CONTENT FOR MUSICIANS TO EXPRESS THEIR ART AND MUSICAL CREATIVITY.
12.
Did you think of HEATWAVE as complete concept because it really
feels like you knew the graphics and sound from the beginning?
13.
Where can we hear and buy your music?
https://heatwave-official.bandcamp.com
YOU WILL FIND FURTHER RELATED LINKS TO OTHER NETWORKS ON OUR SITE.
YOU WILL FIND FURTHER RELATED LINKS TO OTHER NETWORKS ON OUR SITE.
14.
What are your plans for the future?
RIGHT NOW WE ARE WORKING ON A
NEW ALBUM AND SOMEMORE RELEASES COMING OUT FOR YOU SOON. IN THE
DISTANT FUTURE WE ARE ALSO PLANING TO PERFORM OUR MUSIC ON STAGE AS
WELL ...;-)
You can buy the album from Bandcamp and also listen to the clips. Don't just take my word for it
Okay, so time for the review. I admit, I am not too familiar with this synthwave music, except that I like some of it, and as for Heatwave, I do like it, I even played it on the podcast (You can find that on Soundcloud/Mixcrate/Mixcloud under name club interface).
Below The Line is the opener and sets the mood for the album well. What we got here is something that to me 80's revival album made with modern methods with pinch of Kraftwerk thrown in the mix. Especially in the opener it had something Kraftwerkian in it. 10 tracks is just right length for this kind of album, it keeps it solid package. First two tracks would work on synthwave dancefloors really well, I'm sure of it.
Driftmore slows things down to mid-tempo and it is not a bad thing at all to have a breather, Ancient eyes picks the tempo back to dancefloor and that has some modernish sound thrown in foor good effect. It sounds retrofuturistic like the whole album does.
The album keeps changing from dancefloor ones to more midtempo ones which is good and suits it perfectly. As said, this is bit new genre for me and this is almost my introduction for it. I like the melodies, they are simple but work that way. It doesn't sound too stuffed like some music does. Simplistic expression is key element on this album. That reminds me bit of legendary Carpenter themes. Both have that hypnotic element made with simple melodies. Some of the songs could very well be on a scifi movie soundtrack and The Chase especially reminds me of Carpenter's horror themes.
To sum my feelings of the album, it is very well produced. Heatwave really know what they are doing and how it should be done. They also know their strengths well, melodies, and keep things varied through the album so you keep your ear on it. I recommend this to all, who like synthmusic with retrovibe. Well done!