Heatwave interview and review

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

INTERVIEW WITH MARKUS SPILLNER, WHO HAS LAUNCHED THE PROJECT HEATWAVE TOGETHER WITH RICK TURNER

1. How did HEATWAVE get started?

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.

4. There might be some people who haven't heard of you yet, how would you describe your sound for them?

HEATWAVE IS OUR ATTEMPT TO COMBINE A MUSICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE WITH A VISUAL AND ACOUSTIC HARMONIC DRIVE TO EXPERIENCE ALL SENSES

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?

WE LIKED TO MESS AROUND WITH MANY DIFFERENT STUDIO DEVICES AND TRIED TO BRING THESE SOUNDS INTO CATCHY MELODIES OR RHYTHMS AND ALSO VERY CREATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.

8. You have your own Bandcamp site. How has Bandcamp etc changed the game from commercial viewpoint? Are record labels becoming obsolete?

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.

10. HEATWAVE really feels like you are passionate of that sound. What is it with that retro sound that people keep still making it and liking it so much?

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.

11. How much has scene evolved since 80s?

MAINLY DUE TO MORE AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES CONCERNING THE TECHNICAL STATE OF ART AND INFLUENCES FROM OTHER MUSICAL DIRECTIONS, MUSIC TODAY IS “EASIER” TO PRODUCE USING MODERN DAWs.

12. Did you think of HEATWAVE as complete concept because it really feels like you knew the graphics and sound from the beginning?

YES; HEATWAVE DOES HAVE A CONCEPT. THE IDEA AND THE RELATED STORY IS ALMOST THE FRAMEWORK FOR WICH IT STANDS. WE HAVE TRIED TO FOLLOW A MUSICAL AND GRAPHIC “STORYLINE” THROUGH THE WHOLE FIRST ALBUM (BACK FROM THE FUTURE). WE STILL KEEP FOLLOWING LIKE YOU SHOULD...

13. Where can we hear and buy your music?

THE MAIN DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL IS OUR BANDCAMP PAGE:

https://heatwave-official.bandcamp.com
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!