Dutch New Wave act Cymbaline Caution Against Getting Lost in the Digital Age with “Computerleven”

Dutch new wave act Cymbaline have unveiled their video for “Computerleven”, the title track of their forthcoming debut album, which is slated for release this autumn via German recordYoung & Cold Records.

With their music, Cymbaline music draws heavily on the krautrock and new wave of the late ‘70s-early ‘80s, taking cues from bands like Joy Division, Kraftwerk, and De Ambassade. Their cold and bleak sound is achieved through the use of vintage synthesizers and drum machines, conjuring imagery of grey industrial cities while invoking the underlying melancholia that is associated with the music being released towards the end of the Brutalist cold war era.

Both the visual and audio components of “Computerleven” eerily capture a retro-futuristic sci-fi atmosphere, evocative of films from the 60s and 70s, meshing well together well with analog technology and audio gear while serving as a cautionary warning against being swept away in our modern digital age.

As Cymbaline explains:

“Computerleven is the absurdist story of someone getting lost in the digital age and turning into data. The video reflects the desperation that must come with the realization of having been reduced to 1s and 0s.”

Watch the video for “Computerleven”, produced by Glitterjunk, below:

‘Computerleven’ was recorded by Cymbaline and Moreno Hogervorst. It was Mixed by Moreno Hogervorst. and Mastered by Daniel Hallhuber at Young & Cold records.

Previously, Cymbaline released a video for “Walking Sleeptalking, inspired by the 1982 experimental film Koyaanisqatsi, directed by Godfrey Reggio. This song, along with the singles ‘Nicht Weiter Als Berlin‘ and ‘Mean Bobby‘, is included on the band’s singles cassette released last year.

The full-length LP Computerleven is out this coming October.

Pre-order the album here 

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