There is something major brewing in the world of synth-based music. Thanks to the huge success of the Stranger Things soundtrack and the efforts of oddball synth warriors like Anvil Strykez, Perturbator and Carpenter Brut, the sound and vibe of late 70s and early 80s horror and sci-fi soundtracks is becoming the sound of this decade’s tail-end.
As co-founder of Zombi, whose 2015 Shape Shift album nailed this music better than most, AE Paterra has little to prove at this point, but Apex is evidence of both his brilliance as a composer and the enduring power of this strange but compelling music. Neatly encapsulated within the five frenzied minutes of A Few More Pieces Of Eight, Majeure specialises in spiralling sequenced arpeggios that collide with thumping post-disco industrial beats: it’s Giorgio Moroder fed through John Carpenter’s prism of horror and beefed up with the wub-wub clout of 21st century EDM. Unlike most so-called dance music, Majeure’s digital psych conjures an aural and visual world that eschews the dancefloor in favor of mind-frying cosmic voids and dystopian cityscapes: Bladerunner electro-boogie, if you will. This is a superb entry point into the synthwave sphere.
