#synth drone

I recently watched Predator: Badlands and was impressed for so many reasons, from the striking visuals to the immersive alien environments. But as a long-time enthusiast of Weyland-Yutani synths since Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, I was beyond excited to see the arrival of the androids in this story!

Seeing an entire army of drone synths: tactical, stern, and powerful, brought to life by the brilliant Cameron Brown was absolutely breathtaking. I’ve always been fascinated by how these units operate: I would have loved to see more of how they collected samples from Genna or used their advanced tech to study the local flora and fauna, much like David-8 did.

John Elliott (ex-Emeralds) and Andrew Veres' first new music since 2012 comes to us from their ambient techno project Outer Space, which has floated around in various incarnations since the mid-2000s. Released on Editions MEGO, their Phantom Center EP is like exploring a foreign planet that seems strangely familiar, as the spectral synth kosmitche of Elliott's work collides head-on with heady, dead-eyed techno. On "Arrival and Assessment,"  a shifting, uneasy groove is the nucleus around which strangled synth detritus orbits as alien drums resonate into the vast expanse. This is real headphone music-- put this on at work today and get lost.