SXSWORLD

New Synth Scene Puts Modern Twist On Classic Sounds by Chase Hoffberger D epicenters like New York City, Montreal, and Los Angeles are rooted in sounds that were at the forefront of technologically advanced instrumentation as early as the late 1970s. "Dark synth is a bit of a broad description," writes Ian Hicks, who plays synthesizers and programs drums for the Portland, Oregon- based duo Soft Metals. "If looking for a sound to defi ne it, a good place to start would be minimal synth music. Most of the music from the late 1970s and early 1980s came out of an exposure to cheaper, easier to use, compact synthesizers that became available and gave more musicians access to synthesized sounds, ushering in a new era of experimentation and creating the basis of a dark synth style." Simply put, there's a post-disco trend fashioning itself within the genre. Soft Metals takes its cues from early 1980s bands like Skinny Puppy, Kraftwerk and the British synth triumvirate Soft Cell, Th robbing Gristle and Front 242, bands that eschewed disco's party- primed mindset while still maintaining a focus on the genre's emphasis on keyboards and electronic drums. Combined with today's natural gravitation towards dance music and the inherent drone infl ection that comes with holding a sustained note on a synthesizer, the bands characterized as dark synth are often honing in on a combination as simple as splicing dance and electronica with a focused lyrical message. Evidence stands in Montreal-based duo Automelodi, whose Arnaud Lazlaud suggests that the diff erence between early synth music and today's dark synth trends lies in the way the two styles approach lyrical composition. "I don't even think of Automelodi's music as particularly dark," Lazlaud writes. "Th is characterization essentially comes from how the music challenges some common preconceptions that still prevail about electronic music. A very large proportion of the electronic music people hear, especially in the mainstream media, is strictly dance-oriented. Th e music of Automelodi and other dark synth acts distinguishes itself as rather dysfunctional. Even though we are essentially making a form of pop music, we are making musical and lyrical choices that embrace the dysfunctional aspects of human beings as well as those of our times. But 'dark' synth music is really as old as electronic music itself." ark synth music is really not all that dark. It's also not entirely new. In fact, shades of the off -pop, synthesizer heavy music currently undergoing a resurgence in underground 36 SXSW ORLD / M ARCH M USIC 2012 group Kindest Lines, suggests that classic electronic revival is par for the course on Wierd Records, the infl uential Brooklyn label founded by Peter Schoolwerth in 2006 that has housed some of the most diverse variations on minimalistic synth. "Th ere's a modern approach to more obscure electronic music that wasn't as popular when it came out," he says of Wierd, which, aside from Automelodi and Kindest Lines, has recently put out releases from über-minimalists Xeno & Oaklander, Frank (Just Frank) and Brooklyn trio Led Er Est. It is Kindest Lines that stands out in this group, thought that likely has something to do with the group's instrumentation. Champagne himself is one of the rare guitarists to fall in with the dark synth clique. What's more, the group's songwriting foundation of Champagne and synth player Justin Vial began as a drum- and-guitar duo, and Champagne is quick to admit that he hasn't been a fan of synth music for long. Labelmate Jack Champagne, who plays guitar in New Orleans live drums and becoming a bigger band. Eventually we want to add more factors to it. When we went on tour, we actually brought a bass player. It worked great." "I don't feel like we should limit ourselves to anything," he says. "We've experimented with doing Automelodi's Lazlaud, who attributes that trend to musicians previously swept up in other genres taking notice of the dark synth sound. "Some people come from noise or industrial backgrounds; some are really into the early techno/house/acid sound; some are veterans from the hardcore/punk scene; some are into post-punk, neo-folk or even black metal. What seems to be the common ground is that all these individuals, who generally have a pretty broad spectrum of musical knowledge, share an interest for a certain DIY, post-modern approach to the use of electronic instruments, in which the synthesizer has become the folk instrument." ■ what's new and untouched in the world of the synthesizer. "Th e scene seems to be getting more and more tentacular," posits Kindest Lines is unique in this confi guration, but likely not for long. Given the dark synth style's rapid ascent towards popularity, there's already been a dramatic turn towards

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