Millions of emotions on a string
Moving along, stellar overdrive
Soft Riot, a retro-infused multidisciplinary artistic and imaginative synthesizer music venture, is set to release its tenth album No. on August 11th. The album can be acquired through Possession Records and Wave Tension Records (NL). One of the forthcoming new album’s standout pieces is “Linked Between Two Minds,” an enchanting fusion of cosmic-inspired synth melodies and experimental rhythms that transcend the conventional “4 bars of 4/4” pattern prevalent in most contemporary compositions.
This song combines the styles of Skinny Puppy and Martin Dupont into a unique art-pop creation. The haunting vocals of maestro Jack Duckworth can be heard over a mix of synth and percussion, creating a dynamic and intriguing sound. The blend of familiar and new elements makes for a dynamic and impressive auditory experience.
In the surrealist realm of Soft Riot’s music videos, the visionary eye of Duckworth serves as the director, marshaling dreams into reality. This creative genius doesn’t confine his craft to Soft Riot, however. Alongside the uniquely inventive Georgina Penstkart from Glasgow, he forms half of the artistic entity known as Flustervision. In this collaboration, their joint imagination embarks on journeys with artists like She Past Away, The Tomorrow Syndicate, and Marta Raya, spawning visual odysseys that are as captivating as they are mysterious.
“Music videos are an extension of my visual arts practice that I’ve been doing for decades for bands and promoters with poster design, collage work, album covers and more,” says Duckworth. “I’ve been doing design and art for almost as long as I’ve been doing music. Videos are taking visual ideas that come to mind and applying them to a song, moving in motion with the music.”
The original idea for “Linked Between Two Minds” came from a number of dreams Duckworth had relating the subject matter of the lyrics — strange and unexplained moments of mental synchronicity between two or more people, which maybe link into a grander, cosmic scheme of things.
“This video is one that has taken me the longest to produce so far. I made storyboards of all of the “scenes” in the video and then presented them to a group of friends here in Glasgow — all who work or have worked in music, creative arts in performance — and we all got into a local arts/music space here one night and filmed ourselves in front a green screen after which I brought to life.”
Watch the video for “Linked Between Two Minds” below:
The Glasgow-residing Canadian synth maestro Jack Duckworth, more commonly known by his stage name JJD, releases his tenth opus, ‘No.‘, under the Soft Riot banner. Admired for his distinguished ‘synthlord’ resonance within the European underground synth/post-punk scene, ‘No.‘ accentuates Soft Riot’s idiosyncratic artistic finesse within the ‘darkwave/synth’ genre.
Duckworth intricately weaves in strains of synthpop, Italo disco, and EBM, all while maintaining an indie flair that harks back to his earlier immersion in the 1990s North American underground hardcore/punk scene. This eclectic mix underscores his unorthodox approach, blending influences from various stages of his musical journey and showcasing his flexibility as an artist, all the while staying true to his unique sonic aesthetics.
The first forty copies of the vinyl LP will be sold through Bandcamp or live shows. They will come with a limited edition 32-page zine as an accompaniment to the record.
Order the album here, and find remixes and more for “Linked Between Two Minds” on Bandcamp below:
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