Daily Rec: A Backdrop of 80’s Polysynths and Extreme 8-bit Tunes!
Song: Alone (Instrumental Version)
By: Tennishero
One thing I love about a lot of Electro House bands is the influence of old video games. So many credit a lot of their work to old video game systems. Russ Chimes is a great example. Or even Crystal Castles (not strictly Electro House, but a good band to illustrate my point) who even make use of an old Atari chip in their songs.
I think what speaks to me most though, is the way these influences are fused with melodic 80’s tunes. The two go together so well, as this tune by Tennishero proves. Set against a backdrop of 80’s polysynths the extreme 8-bit tune dot’s in and out creating a lovely mellow blend. There’s even a slight bend at the end of some notes - which can sometimes seem a bit cheesy (if executed wrongly)… but not in this case, it’s perfect.
There are several versions of this song, but I’ve found the instrumental is my favourite, simply because the music is so relaxed and perfect. The edits with vocals are fine, it’s just for me the vocals don’t add an awful lot to the mix.
I don’t know too much about the band themself, only what I’ve read on last.fm. Apparently they are a Swedish band (relocated to France) who are obsessed with the tennis skills of Bjorn Borg. They’re main influences come from retro tennis games (unsurprisingly!), and the two top cited musical influences are Daft Punk and Metro Area - which I think is an unusual and amazing mix, as I highly rate both of those bands!!
It’s a great chilling song, and is one of those typical summer essentials!
Stream:
Stream the song on their last.fm page
Buy:
Help support these crazy Swedes by purchasing their retro tunes legally
can’t agree more, as i am listening to the instrumental version of tennishero’s alone. just feeling fascinated by its unusual tone and melody from time to time. and thanks to your introduction that i’ve realised its inheritance from the 8-bit video games that i was once so familiar with.
If you like this you’ll probably like Anoraak too - very similar style, electro-house, but more mellow than some other mainstream stuff out at the moment.