Electronic / Synthwave
RIYL: Daft Punk / Kavinsky
Music made entirely using the Auxy application on an iPhone, Fantom ’87 (Matt McClure) delivers Discovery, their third release of 2017.
Are you a fan of the 80s electronic and synthwave aesthetic? Yes? Then this is for you. Imagine walking onto the set of Tron, and being fully immersed in the world. Now, put this record on and close your eyes. You’re there now, aren’t you? Flynn is touching your shoulder. He’s explaining the world and how to win the game, isn’t he? If you’ve said yes to both of these questions, you’ll understand why F’87’s compositions are so important.
What’s great about this album is that F’87 gives the listener the opportunity to visualize the world they’ve created without having to watch a film to enjoy it.
While the textures on “Pay Phone” seem like they could be bolstered a touch, the composition carries a lot of weight as the song begins to build. The result creates a killer mood for any laser tag party. In addition, what catches the ear the most, are the moods F’87 creates. Subsequently, the following tracks, “Destiny” and “Traveller” have that intense, cutting-air-with-a-knife Blade Runner vibe that would make Vangelis proud.
Moreover, what is cool about the release for this album is that there are only two ways you can get it: digitally, or via commercial grade audio cassette. While the cassette format has long since been considered a dead format, electronic artists have gone back to using it to release their work in a very limited, members-only club.
Though F’87 hails from Abilene, Texas, this release has been picked up Midnight Pursuit, a record label hailing from Queensland, Australia. Being picked up internationally is not anything new for F’87 though. Their extended play Vision Quest E.P. was released on After Mess Records. AMR is a company boasting offices in both Mexico and Canada. Suffice to say that the music and genres that F’87 fall into transcend language barriers because, as we all know, electronic music reaches so many more people on many different levels.
Ultimately, all we have to say is do not sleep on this release. If you like it, please feel free to check out their full-length The Comet, available on many streaming platforms. Matt is also looking to fund a new microphone via his GoFundMe Page right here!
