The open sky and the cold stars above us
There ain‘t a thing that can come between us
Remember, we were strangers yesterday
Today we could change our ways
Swiss coldwave duo CØLDSTAR unveils their debut album, CØSMIC DUST, a celestial journey through longing and the infinite. The collection features remastered digital singles alongside a brand-new track, each orbiting like distant stars in a galaxy of sound. The album resonates with echoes of extinguished suns, alien worlds, and black holes—places that stir bittersweet yearnings for the unreachable.
Helmed by Martin Baumann and Michael Freund, CØLDSTAR blends a passion for dark electronic music with a fascination for the enigmatic universe. Inspired by cosmic mysteries, they craft a unique aesthetic of danceable melodies and moody atmospheres. Employing vintage analog synthesizers and vocoders, their music exudes a retro-futuristic allure, channeling the spirit of bygone eras into their ethereal creations.
CØLDSTAR’s sound draws listeners into a musical cosmos where emotions gravitate toward the unfamiliar. Pulsing rhythms evoke the intensity of meteor showers, while shimmering melodies echo the faint light of long-gone stars. Their music invites the imagination to drift into infinite realms, exploring themes as boundless as the universe itself.
The album starts in earnest with the brooding synths of “Sleepless,“ a track that hums powerfully with sonorous vocals, whose lyrics brim with thoughtful reflection, exploring life’s overlooked wonders—those treasures just within reach, yet so often ignored. It whispers a plea for patience, to pause, to see, and to savor. The track opens with eerie chorals and angelic tones, a soft buzz of otherworldliness, before bursting into a pulsating disco backbeat. Each note stings with clarity, urging us to hold tight to fleeting moments of beauty, to cherish the irreplaceable fragments that make life whole. It’s a shimmering balance of ethereal serenity and kinetic rhythm, a reminder to embrace what’s precious before it slips away.
The soaring, icy pulses of “I Won’t Follow You,“ featuring a hybrid of post-punk melody and icy disco beats, generate a seductive sound reminiscent of And Also The Trees and Agent Side Grinder meets Xeno and Oaklander. This atmosphere permeates each track on the entire album to varying degrees.
The idea for “I Won’t Follow You” came about “during a drive through the barren, Mars-like volcanic landscape of Fuerteventura,” says the band. “It is a monochrome world of black rock and red earth. The sun is hot and the monotonous sound of tyres on the road is the only noise that breaks the silence. This meditative perception, in which the driver falls into a trance-like state, makes him take an important decision.”
“When Night Falls” is a crooning synthpop with a more tender, subdued melody that purrs with the yearning to break free from life’s relentless humdrum and step boldly into a realm of infinite night. “Be brave,” it beckons as the moon and stars offer their quiet guidance, illuminating a path through the vast unknown.
“Emily Star” is a soaring romantic synth tune with a twinkling melody that truly evokes the feeling of laying on a hillside far from the obscuring glow of the urban haze, drawing the cosmic ocean above. The track tells of a dreamer, a girl who gazes nightly at the sky’s darkest stars, believing the universe holds a secret meant just for her. Convinced there’s more beyond the bounds of Earth, it channels Bowie’s cosmic curiosity and celestial wanderlust – as well as a few nods to Ashes To Ashes.
“Tumbling” features a driving melody that sounds like a lost Midnight Juggernauts track meets Visage. It explores the ache for emotional closeness and the freedom to truly feel. It speaks to those stung by the weight of inner barriers who question whether it’s too much to seek connection, embrace vulnerability, and finally let go.
Bubbling with organ-like synths and a more gothic, almost vampiric vocal delivery, “I See A Light” whirrs like a dancer in a masquerade ball, with lyrics that echo the disorienting buzz of modern sensory overload, where the world feels blurred and surreal. Yet, it offers solace, suggesting that silence and introspection hold the key to real beauty amidst the chaos.
The spellbinding, retaining the dancey baroqueness of the previous track, “Time Machine,” spins a bittersweet ode to the 80s, where fading neon lights and echoes of past passion trap a dreamer in nostalgic rhythms. Dancing to long-gone dreams, the dancer finds herself caught between yearning and reality.
The title track, Cøldstar (Restart), is a vocoder-laden anthem that radiates hope, yearning for a new light—a star that can enhance and rejuvenate life. It serves as a heartfelt appeal to discard the old and welcome new beginnings. The song evokes an exchange between collective consciousness and the vastness of space. It embodies a blend of rhythms and synthpop influences, capturing a cinematic and futuristic feel along with elements of medieval folk and disco pop, all infused with a sense of nostalgia. It’s as if Kraftwerk discovered the ghost in the machine while journeying like a monk on a pilgrimage to interstellar cathedrals via rocket ship.
“Last Dance” propels forward on a driving synthpop beat, its darkwave guitar accents adding a brooding edge beneath a star-strewn sonic canopy. The track dares the listener to step into the unknown, urging boldness and authenticity while reminding us of life’s fragile, fleeting pulse. By blending atmospheric textures with an unwavering call to stay true to ourselves, it stands as a thrilling, late-night anthem dedicated to chasing the moment before it slips away.
The album’s moody closer, “Noisefloor,” immerses the listener in a darker, metallic-sounding sci-fi atmosphere, capturing the surreal stillness of humanity’s first flight to the moon. The track evokes the wonder of gazing at Earth from the void of space, where silence presses in, pierced only by the hum and clicks of onboard technology. Layers of sound intertwine with archival recordings of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s post-landing conversation, grounding the ethereal experience in history. Blending the mechanical with the otherworldly, “Noisefloor” channels the awe of exploration, merging raw humanity with the infinite unknown.
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