James Rod: Olsen Disket (EXCLUSIVE TRACK PREMIERE!!!)

James Rod, co-founder of the wonderful Spanish disco label ''Spa In Disco'', has just released some music of his own. It's more than apparent that he just gets what good space-disco is all about, because only someone with a very profound understanding of disco/synths could create a track this cool. ''Olsen Disket'' takes me back to 2011...to the era Miami Horror released ''Illumination'' and the time the Valerie Collective was still alive. The track brims with creativity, and simple elegance. A true gem. 

Jordan F: Discovery Mixtape + Tracklisting

Australian Synthwave producer Jordan F recently told me about a sick monthly mixtape series he wanted to start in the not-so-distant future. I loved the idea because, frankly, very few synthwave artists even release mixtapes anymore  (I remember the good old days when Anoraak would drop mixes on the regular, along with College and Maethelvin). 

Anyway, I thought it would be pretty rad to premiere Jordan F's first official mixtape, ''Discovery'' on Disco Unchained...The tape is synthy, funky, groovy, cosmic, retro, cultured, organized, and all around classy. ''Discovery'' is perfect for driving, chilling, or pretty much doing anything, so be sure to check it out below. The tracklisting is also exclusively available below as a treat for you guys. Some key words are: Neptune Safari, Zimmer, and Mitch Murder. 

Tracklisting:

D/A/D – Terminal

Mitch Murder – Snow Crash

Flight Facilities – Down To Earth

Neptune Safari – Nebula

Les Loups – Colourblind

Tinashe – Vulnerable (Pomo Remix)

Indeep – Last Night The DJ Saved My Life (LeMarquis Remix)

Luke Million – Light & Sound

Lifelike – Overdrive

Kource – Down

MØ – Don’t Wanna Dance (Zimmer Remix)

Caribou – Our Love

Tycho – See

Robert Parker: Interstellar Traveller (Exclusive Track Premiere)

To those of you that have been following us for a while now, you'd notice we've stayed away from synthwave for a while. There is a reason for this. Generally we've felt that the scene had become very saturated with numerous copy-cat artists making repetitive music with repetitive track names- you know what we mean. Robert Parker has not only re-inspired our faith in this genre, but he has shown us that true creativity within this sound still exists. His latest track, ''Interstellar Traveller'' features College quality synths and vocals that command chills. A true gem of a track. Be sure to grab it on bandcamp here.

Tetrahominoid: Convoy.

How about some synthwave for a change? Tetrahominoid, a brand new synthwave act from LA, recently dropped an interesting track worth taking a look at. ''Convoy'' features nostalgic synth reminiscent of early Maethelvin, and vocoder samples that sound like something from Daft Punk's earlier albums. An interesting blend of sounds indeed. Definitely worth a spin. 

EXCLUSIVE TRACK PREMIERE: Maethelvin- Waveforms (Live edit.)

Ah, Maethelvin. You just can't go wrong with him. All his tracks, from "Lost in a Big City" to his remix of "Continue" by Minitel Rose, are absolutely brilliant. Disco Unchained is proud to premiere Maethelvin's latest track, "Waveforms". "Waveforms" is a typical Valerie era track...beautiful, eerie synths with melodic 80s undertones. Be sure to give this a listen, Maethelvin is one of our original favorites. You can check his other stuff out here!

                                                                                   - Shazeb

Saturday Sitdown With Anoraak

It's like a dream come true! We here at Disco Unchained had the pleasure of meeting one of our all time favorite artists; Anoraak. In anticipation of his new work, we decided it was only right that we got him over for a Saturday Sitdown Session. 

1) How did Anoraak start? How on Earth did it all begin?

It started in my student room, at a time i didn't have a band anymore because i'd moved to another city for my studies. I had never tried to use a computer to make music before, so it took a little time to start to create something decent. No one really knew about my music, even my roommate, and at some point i decided to upload a couple of tracks on Myspace in 2007 or 2008, and it genuinely took off from my room thanks to that.

2) Is there any special meaning attached to the name "Anoraak"? What does it mean?

Basically it's the sound of the word that interested me. Also, an anorak was the jacket i used to put on when skiing when i was a kid, and at this time it felt like a cool reference to my childhood.

3) Tell us a bit about your new album! Whats it about? the "Night Drive With You" era was about summer love and heartache. What is your new work about?

The new album "Chronotropic" has more of a urban, nocturnal feeling. I'd say a little darker. I guess there will always be a summery touch in my work anyways, but this one has something deeper in the sound, in the composition, in the graphic design. It's more sharply contrasted, and it's a sum of the experiences of "Nightdrive With You", "Wherever The Sun Sets", and a lot from the tour with my band.

4) Where did Anoraak draw inspiration from musically? Any artists or bands in particular?

It's always hard to answer such a question. My musical background is extremely wide, and it would be too restrictive to pick just a few names. I think the most influencing musical currents to my music are: the 70's disco and funk scene, the mainstream pop music from the 80's, and the alternative rock ad electronic scenes from the 90's and early 2000's.

5) Tell us a bit about touring! Where will you be in the future in regards to performances?

The album release is planned for October 21st, and i'll be back on the road with my band on October 22nd Apart from a few gigs programmed in France and some djsets in the USA, i can't give a schedule so far, it's in the making. But i'm pretty excited, we've just finished a residency to put every single detail of the show together, and it's looking and sounding really great.

6) Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

To be honest, i absolutely don't think about that! Thinking about tomorrow is already way enough to me, i certainly consider that life is too short and too unpredictable to think like that.

7) All time favorite food and drink?

I love food in general, that's as hard as picking one favorite band! Maybe even harder... I'm really about fish and seafood, let's say the smoked haddock, i love it. And i'll definitely have a preference for a good red wine or a good whisky. By the way, red wine with fish is totally underrated


9) All time favorite song (this is a tough one, but try your best)

For sure it's a tough one! I'd say Antonin Dvorak's "Slavonic Dance Op.72" n°2, especially the orchestral version, it brings you to tears.

10) If you could change one thing about the world, absolutely anything, what would it be? anything at all?

The size of planet Earth!

11) Believe me when I say there are a lot of people that look up to you. What advice you have for newer artists?

It's a lot of responsibility to give advice about such an unpredictable activity. To my opinion, just keeping doing what you love and what you need to do is the only way. It's all about passion, all the rest has little importance.

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And there you have it folks! You can follow Anoraak here