Synthetic tunes
On Bandcamp Friday I had no pressing need to buy music from there. So I had a mooch around the #BandcampFriday tags on social media to see what other people were buying in order to maybe discover something new and great.
I saw a link to some "Hauntology" stuff (which is music that sounds like it's been made in 1973 on those newfangled synthemasisers that are the size of a garage). The music beautifully recreated that early 70s synth vibe, along with that unnerving "Public Information Film /Protect and Survive/sitting cross-legged on a hard wooden school hall floor looking up at a tall legged television with my classmates" feeling of utter childhood dread.
But it ultimately made me want to go and listen to early Tangerine Dream, Terry Riley or Jean-Michel Jarre albums instead. Artfully crafted as it was, it just felt like a needlessly nostalgic exercise.
Similarly the genre of Synthwave/Mallwave to me just sounds like the soundtrack to Knightrider, Street Hawk or that other mode of transport based action adventure TV show from the 1980s.
It's odd. I find the use of vintage synths (or computer emulations thereof) to make new music that sounds period correct a bit pointless. But if someone made an album of 60s psychedelia or mid/late 70s powerpop I'd be all up in that business.
Why do I find recreations of one genre pointless when compared to another? The same amount of artistry, work and love went into creating both types of music - both of which I am partial to - but to me one feels a bit redundant.
Why is that?
It's probably because I'm a bit of a twat.