Electronic composers Heiko Maile and Julian Demarre have been working together on and off for the best part of thirty years, but mainly in the world of film scores.
Finally the duo has decided to release Neostalgia, their ultimate paean to the classic era of electronic music. Uncovering rare Japanese keyboards from the seventies and dipping into ideas that fondly remember Bebe and Louis Barron and Tangerine Dream in equal measure, but also inject elements of tension, recalling the likes of S U R V I V E in the end result, some of which wouldn’t be out of place on the Stranger Things soundtrack.
Although recorded in the last few years, starting around the time of the pandemic, and with the pair in different parts of the world, Neostalgia is a cohesive whole but one with an immediately recognisable sound; the drifting comfort of opener “Patience” with its glissando synth slides feels removed from the current malaise.
Oddly, although it shares no musical similarity, it has the same kind of numb yearning that “Wicked Game” had; a vacuum just waiting to be filled. The only vocals that appear over the course of the ten tracks are found in the omniscient robotic delivery in “Reflection”, which suits the feeling of remove; while on “Number Stations”, a distorted female voice is stranded light years from home, its long journey almost unimaginable. Where beats are employed, they have an innate softness; but when allied to the funky synth bass and wah-wah effects of “Serengeti Ostinato”, a streetwise vibe emerges. With its more dancefloor-oriented feel, it steps closer to Earth than we have been so far and the pseudo-industrial “Universal Universe” with hints of Klaus Schulze uses another voice, this time more sultry to keep things grounded.The recent excitement around Stranger Things and all things ’80s and synthy has worked well for certain artists, and although these guys have been working with these sort of sounds for a long time, it still feels part of a swell. The sense of intrigue, the background tension; Heiko Maile and Julian Demarre certainly know how to build an atmosphere, but they also know about constructing a piece that works musically and the symphonic sentiments of “Melancholia”, with its array of synths working on all levels, is quite the triumph.
As the album works towards a conclusion, they are not afraid to visit Tangerine Dream territory with the staccato stabs and synthetic beats moving into the distance of “Hollow Earth”. But really, once the album ends, you realise these guys understand exactly what is needed to make an album work and although they use the sounds of yesteryear, this is a futuristic album that bears repeated listening.-Mr Olivetti-
