Duett: Rituals EP Review

   Duett, a brand new synth duo from London, just released their new EP Rituals via Modal Recordings. Rituals, though only 3 tracks long, is beautiful. Not since Paul have we heard synth so smooth. What makes Duett unique is not only the quality and saturation of their synth, but also the mystical and spiritual feelings their synth elicits. Very rarely do we come across a synthwave act that delivers in every track.

Their first track, 'Principle', is perhaps their greatest. The synth in 'Principle' is both nostalgic and fresh at the same time. What makes Duett unique is their minimalistic approach to instruments. 'Principle' features maybe 3 or 4 different synth variations and a kick-ass drum sample and that’s all it takes for Duett to create a masterpiece. 'Principle' is both uplifting and hypnotic, and features a sound almost reminiscent of that in Miami Horror’s Sometimes EP. 

Duett’s second track, 'Contrast', is also brilliant. 'Contrast', much like Principle, is uplifting and spiritually intriguing. It features choppy, catchy synth riffs and an interesting synth-bass line. What makes the track so unique is the almost spiritual effect it creates upon the listener. 'Contrast' has hypnotic synth riffs that are perhaps its biggest selling point. The third track from the EP is unlike the first two. 'Rituals' is far more mellow, and far slower than the rest of Duett’s tracks. Rituals features a very slow, but rhythmic build up, and is definitely more elegant in composition than the previous tracks. Rituals is more of a blend between dreamwave and soundtrack synth, making it perfect for plenty of audio-visual applications and experiences.

Monarchy.

We recently got in touch with one of our favorite bands/duos, Monarchy. Monarchy has been behind some of our all time favorite tracks, namely "Love for Sale" and "I won't let go". In a Disco Unchained exclusive, Andrew Armstrong of Monarchy, answers some of our questions about the group's origins and future direction. 

1) How did Monarchy form? What are the origins of the duo?'

 We met in London, though we're both from Australia. We started making music together. Then when we wrote Gold In      The Fire, we decided it was a new project, and we named it Monarchy. After that, it has been our focus for the last four years.

 2) Where Monarchy take its musical influence from? What particular songs. artists, and genres have inspired you?

Our influences change overtime, but always a mix of dance and song writing. We love Daft Punk, and Stevie Wonder, Arcade Fire, Talking Heads, but also new stuff, like Sohn, James Blake, Disclosure. We listen to a broad range of music, always getting new inspiration and learning about song writing.

 3) Aside music, what else does the front man of Monarchy do? Do you have any other hobbies or passions?

I do loads actually. I'm mildly gym obsessed and health obsessed, so that means cooking at home. I'm trying to learn Spanish, but not doing terribly well at it. I'm also doing a side project with a friend called Horixon, we released on Kitsune, and are getting new tracks together now. And collect a bit of art, and visit galleries and travel. Travel is absolutely the best thing you can do with your money. And then every year I also go hiking with my brother in the mountains of Northern Italy. It's incredible.

4) This is a tough one, and we're known for asking this, but list your top 3 favorite tracks of all time (any genre, any time period)

That is a tough one. Stevie Wonder- I Wish. Aphex Twin - Window Licker. Whatever the last track on my iTunes shuffle was…

5) Are there any particular back stories for some of your tracks, like "I won't let go" for example, or "Love for sale"?

Often when we finish a song it feels like it’s 100% factual and 100% fiction. Which we realise is bad math, but that’s how it feels. Love for sale, is about the loss of identity within a relationship. How in the struggle to love and be loved in return, it can be easy to compromise who you are. It’s based on a real relationship, but viewed in hindsight. Hindsight is always a fiction.

6) Any thing you'd like to say/shout out to your fans?

Don't dumb it down, always shout for your individuality.

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Take a listen to their brand new track "Living Without You":

You guys can follow Monarchy here

Disco Unchained Meets John Type

Over many, many years of listening to electronic music, one tends to develop an ear for "special" tracks. By "special", we mean songs that are so uniquely done that you just can't ignore their brilliance. One such song is the "Electro Disco Mashup" that producer John Type has done. That one song (rather, that mix of songs) has moved us to the point that we absolutely had to get in touch with the artist behind it. So here it is, our chat with John Type. Remember the name, because he's going places.

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  1 ) How on Earth did you get into music? Where did it begin?
  I was lucky enough to grow up in a family where there was art and music! At the age of 4 years old my dear grandmother taught me the basics of piano, then at 12 years old I discovered the hip hop culture and I was one graffiti writer for many years, this then led me to the world of turntablism and the DJ.
  

  2 ) What are the top 3 motivating features regarding your music? What inspires you to play?

  1 - Emotions 2 - Visions 3 - Full Moon

  3 ) What are your top 3 favorite songs of all time?

  1 - Moonlight Sonata - Ludwig Van Beethoven 2 - It's Just Begun - The Jimmy Castor Bunch 3 - Tour De France - Kraftwerk

  4 ) How long have you been producing? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

  I was born as a dj and turntablist in 1997, then in 2001 I started to produce with hardware samplers and synths .. in 5 years? It would be nice to create an original sound.

  5) What are your top 3 favorite horror movies of all time?

  1 - The Thing (1982) 2 - Alien (1979) 3 - Scanners (1981)

  6 ) What's your favorite pizza topping?

  Italian sausage and porcini mushrooms!

  7 ) How on Earth did you learn to mix like that? After hearing your 'electro disco' mashup, we were smitten. How long did it take you make it?

  Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed! Rather than mixing, it takes longer to find the right songs to mix together, it is important that the songs must be in perfect harmony to make a good mashup. I think it took me about 2/3 days to decide the right songs. When I play live with my Video DJ Set, I mix tracks separately with Serato Video with only 1 technics 1200's and a Rane TTM 57.

  8 ) Your video editing skills are brilliant as well. The music video is brilliant for the electro disco mashup you did. How long did that take?

  Thank you again! To edit the video it took me more time, especially because I have not done with a professional video software, what I used: Ableton Live for video time stretch and editing, iMovie to make dual screen effect and Handbrake for to crop and convert formats. The workflow and the waiting time for rendering were endless! In addition to this some of the songs did not have the original video so I had to do a search to find the suitable video and edit it. To create the entire video it took me approximately one week!

  9 ) What's your all time favorite place to hang out and chill?

  Positive people, good drinks and nice music.. And magically every place is great!

  10 ) Tell us a bit about John Type. Do you have any tours lined up? Do you see yourself performing globally over the next 10 years?

  For now I'm in the studio working on a new ep and other side projects, then we'll see what happens...

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• You guys can follow him here!

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