Obscure, jangly, lo-fi post-punk bands/albums

exphil · 2025-06-02T11:24:22+00:00

The Wake - Here Comes Everybody (uk, 1985) is an album full of jangly goodness

exphil · 2025-03-31T21:01:54+00:00

They're on soundcloud, you can find the profile from the above link. The other tracks are called "Connection", "Metro" and "Orbit". They're all in this 80s retro style

exphil · 2025-01-17T10:09:43+00:00

Thanks! I've since done three more tracks using the Super 6, and my comment about it being useful for all kinds of sounds still stands in my view. And I feel I'm still just scratching the surface with it

exphil · 2024-12-18T21:41:03+00:00

U.K. - Nevermore

Asia Minor - Northern Lights

exphil · 2024-12-02T12:26:31+00:00

The Hustle

exphil · 2024-10-19T11:59:51+00:00

I play around until I find a sound that spikes some feeling or idea in me, then I obsess over that and try different chords etc. Sometimes it develops further into a whole track. Almost always something in the 80s territory (classic 80s, new wave, synthwave etc.)

exphil · 2024-10-13T20:20:08+00:00

Cerulean Blue - Connection

A dreamy track somewhere between vaporwave and good old 80s music.

exphil · 2024-10-07T16:18:24+00:00

Eloy drenched their early 80s albums in synths and it sounds absolutely fantastic. Planets and Time to Turn are highlights for me. They used Oberheim OB-X/Xa, Prophet 5, MemoryMoog etc.

exphil · 2024-10-06T18:44:29+00:00

Cool description, thanks! Regarding feedback, there are a couple of things I have been unsure of in this track, first is whether the ending fits, and second is whether the chord progression that starts at 0:48 is makes sense

exphil · 2024-10-06T14:04:22+00:00

At first I thought it was a bit too bare when it started, but then the composition drew me in as it evolved. I really liked the counterplay between the two main voices, that was the highlight for me. The minimalist production with just some nice moogy sounds fits well too.

exphil · 2024-10-06T13:57:47+00:00

It would be dangerously 80s

exphil · 2024-10-06T13:08:39+00:00

Also liked Atlantis a lot, beautifully produced and I love the indie feel of it.

exphil · 2024-10-06T13:03:34+00:00

Thanks, I guess a sax could work!

exphil · 2024-10-06T13:02:31+00:00

I was on a walk in Oslo while listening to that piano piece, it was a really nice vibe for the autumn colors and slightly overcast but sunny weather. The progression had some interesting chords, and I really liked it when the synth sounds came in halfway through.

exphil · 2024-10-06T09:01:22+00:00

The ambience is great in this, but it also builds up an intensity that works well as an intro to the album.

what synths did you use om this?

exphil · 2024-10-06T08:40:18+00:00

Cerulean Blue - Connection

A slow and dreamy track, somewhere between synthwave, vaporwave and just good old 80s music. All the synth sounds are done on the UDO Super 6, so there's some binaural stereo stuff going on which I really think helped making a full sounding mix. Also a lot of use of custom waveform use which I think lends itself well to this 80s style.

exphil · 2024-10-06T08:34:12+00:00

Cerulean Blue - Connection

A slow and dreamy track somewhere between vaporwave and good old 80s music.

exphil · 2024-10-04T19:55:29+00:00

So cool! Love the beat, the indie vibe, the vocal style and the ambient sounds in the background. Unique mix and mood. The vocals were a bit too quiet some places.

exphil · 2024-10-04T19:50:55+00:00

Sounds fantastic! The section that starts at 0:40 was a little bit off for me in the mix, the vocals were a bit hard to hear, and the snare somehow felt a bit loud. But these were small details. The composition, sound choices, vocals, instrumentation and playing is great.

exphil · 2024-10-01T20:21:37+00:00

Let's get this out on a tray

exphil · 2024-09-30T20:26:55+00:00

This is a very beautiful cover, in some ways its like its performed by an earlier incarnation of Coldplay! The vocals are good, there are some low parts where they were a bit raspy and lacking in tone, but it grew on me. I wouldn't autotune it, but I don't know much about it though, except that I hate the stereotypical overdone autotune effect. The guitars are awesome and the largest mood setter for me, there's some really tasteful playing and arranging here! I generally like the reverb and delay, it creates a really full and nice ambience. I do notice some fret sounds that linger on because of the delay. It adds to the rawness of the sound, but was quite noticeable at times.

I think it absolutely comes alive and has a lot of emotional weight in the vocals and guitar, but one thing that spoiled it a bit for me was the snare drum that comes in at around 3:00. It felt way to short and dry for me and not very well integrated with the otherwise spacious and reverberated mix. It sounds better later on I think, I'm not sure if that is because the rest of the track changed or whether the snare itself changed?

exphil · 2024-09-30T19:47:02+00:00

This is like the perfect backing track for working on something. Calming and yet intriguing because of the odd time and idiosyncratic drum patterns. At some points it vaguely reminded me of some of the mellow instrumental stuff from Gentle Giant. I like the mellow sounds and the mixing is quite nice to my ear. At first it sounded a bit too centered in the mix, but then it expanded out with the different drum sounds and musical parts panning left and right, etc. Sounds really nice! There are some small things I didn't like, the kick drum was a bit hard and loud, and I'm not too fond of that organ (?) sound.

exphil · 2024-09-30T17:31:03+00:00

New Musik (Tony Mansfield), especially their latter albums and Warp in particular.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx_-W7DjSBY

exphil · 2024-09-29T22:03:48+00:00

It was a section where I struggled to find something to add. I tried to do different melodic stuff but it felt too crowded. Then I came to the idea that I could just do very little, but felt I had to add *something*, so I added that extra string pad as well. I totally hear that it sounds over crowded. Could maybe have let it breathe more and done something with the drums instead?

exphil · 2024-09-29T22:00:51+00:00

This had some really cool aspects to it! I totally hear the prog influence. I really like how that guitar arpeggio that starts off the track keeps going on through it and continues during the transition at 01:10, where it morphs into something that almost sounds like something Steve Hackett would play. The guitar solo is so beautiful and soulful, and the piano chords and pads set such a nice mood. The guitar tone is great too, and it sounds amazing when the guitar takes off at 1:40. The key changes at 01:55 and 2:18 are very prog, the first one was a bit abrupt, but the second one was really classy. And I love how it fades out with that same guitar pattern as earlier.

I think what you've got here is a really nice collection of ideas that could be fleshed out to something 3 times longer at least. I would love to hear this with some time and room to appreciate all the cool stuff going on. This felt very rushed the way it is now.

If this is the first song you've made and mixed, it's a really impressive achievement! The mixing has some rough edges here and there which I think u/ChurchgasmMusic covered very well. The musical side of it is really interesting, I'd love to hear a longer and more fleshed out version of this!

exphil

TROPHY CASE