[dropcap]If[/dropcap] you are anxiously waiting with 80’s synth-wave nostalgia for the second season of the Netflix summer hit Stranger Things, you must listen to Massimo Usai’s project Confrontational. The second album Kingdom of Night features collaborations with Cody Carpenter, and Hante’s Hélène De Thoury—the latter of which we are premiering the wistful and anthemic track Keep Faith.
Here some more info on Kingdom of Night courtesy of Massimo:
“The tracks on ‘Kingdom of Night’ (the second entry in a trilogy that started with ‘A Dance of Shadows’) are sounding darker, deeper and heavier than ever before. There was a deliberate focus on trying to create some classic anthems in the songwriting process – tracks with relentless beats, an emphasis on melody and a really driving chorus. I was heavily influenced by my hometown of Cagliari, Sardinia, and its esoteric aura can be felt strongly throughout the LP in more than one way.
The new collaborations make me extremely proud of the release: the unmistakable lead synth of the amazing Cody Carpenter (co-author of the LOST THEMES albums with his father John) is coming back with a vengeance on “Crimson Curtains”, the powerful dual harmonies from Dance With The Dead guitarist Tony Kim on “Stand Your Ground”, there’s the cinematic melancholia of Ugo Laurenti (the Italian composer who scored Pupi Avati’s cult series ‘Voci Notturne’) on “Midnight Wings”, and then the beautiful, haunting voice of Hélène De Thoury (of French cold-wave act Hante.) on “Keep Faith”, which marks an emotional highlight on the album. The epic sound stones of the late Sardinian sculptor Pinuccio Sciola also make a special appearance on the tracklisting.
“Keep Faith” is certainly the most soul-baring moment on the LP, and getting to work on it with Hélène has been nothing short of incredible: I feel the way our voices intertwine on the track is wonderful, unique and very precious. I’m so grateful that we found this connection through the music – I am a huge fan of her work with HANTE. and I am truly thankful for her dedicated and heartfelt contribution.”
Live dates:
18 September – SYNTHZILLA 2 pre-party (with DANCE WITH THE DEAD, ARTEMUS GORDON and M A L M Ö) – LA MARQUISE, Lyon (FRANCE) – tickets: https://www.weezevent
KINGDOM OF NIGHT pre-order link (both physical & digital): https://confrontatio
http://confrontational.net
https://twitter.com/confrontat
https://facebook.com/2confrontational
http://soundcloud.com/2confron
http://instagram.com/2confront
http://confrontational.bandcam
Pick up A DANCE OF SHADOWS which just got issued by Bronson Recordings on translucent green vinyl (limited to 500 hand numbered copies and including an extended poster with full lyrics) and this is the link to order it: http://bit.ly/Confrontatio
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