REVIVAL SYNTH
Platform for Independent Artists:
Revival Synth provides a space for electronic artists to gain exposure.
It aims to unite electronic artists from around the world.
Focus on Music:
The site emphasizes a pure love for the music, rather than focusing on fees, egos, or popularity.
Promotion and Sharing:
It shares artist links to help create a larger audience.
It also publishes information about new releases from those artists.
Community Support:
The site accepts donations to help with upkeep.
It also works with radio stations to help promote the artists.
In essence, revivalsynth.com is a hub for independent electronic music, designed to foster a supportive community and promote emerging talent.
Be Part Of It!
Site Sponsor
A huge welcome to our new site sponsor, Michael aka APEX STAR.
Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, Apex Star is an electronic and guitar based music project established by musician and producer Michael Marsland. Playing a mixture of electronica and dark synth, guitar infused music, Apex Star explores both upbeat vibes and darker complex sounds.
The first album Galactica, released in mid 2020 was a concept piece which blended space synth and heavy guitars to take the listener on a musical voyage into the future.
This was followed in 2021 by the EP Shades of Light, five tracks of upbeat electronica, with the track Love and Loss featuring on BBC Introducing on Radio Newcastle. 2023 saw the release of Shades of Night, six tracks of dark synth guitar infused music.
2024 saw the release of SONAT AETHEREI - A collection of electronica based around a loose theme of the ethereal, using samples and synth soundscapes with catchy beats.
Stay Tuned! New music coming soon. Please check out the links below and give him a follow.
A huge thanks to Thomas aka BLONDEKING for sponsoring the site over past few years. Much appreciated!
CLICK ON THE SLEEVE TO BE RE-DIRECTED TO THE ARTISTS CURRENT/PRE-SAVE LINK.
ALBUM : THEMES FROM GLORY DAYS
ARTIST : MICK MACNEIL
Themes From Glory Days, features 12 stunning piano versions from Mick MacNeil (ex keyboard player of Simple Minds).
“I went back and discovered melodies that existed before the originals, along with others that evolved into live versions so different they essentially became entirely new pieces”.
There are also 10 New Bonus tracks, these feature on the CD and Download Versions. Bonus tracks will be available to download for Vinyl purchases. Click HERE for purchase options.
Album Tracks:
1) Bound by Blood 2) The Book 3) The Traveller 4) My Land 5) Brookside 6) A Long Walk to Freedom
7) Fortune Favours the Brave 8) Faction 9) Summer Memories 10) A Long Way to Come 11) A Quiet Miracle 12) After it Came Down
Bonus Tracks:
13) Beneath the Waves 14) It’s a Sickness 15) Pipes of Bannockburn 16) The Unknown Piano 17) The Dry River
18) The Dark Island 19) Lost Love 20) Farewell my Friend 21) Duncan’s View 22) Arthurs Seat.
Revival Synth..
There’s something quietly powerful about Themes From Glory Days, a record that feels less like a retrospective and more like a personal excavation. Best known for his work with Simple Minds, Mick MacNeil steps away from stadium-sized soundscapes and into something far more intimate: the piano, stripped bare.
From the outset, the album establishes its core idea—these aren’t straightforward reinterpretations, but rediscoveries. MacNeil revisits melodies that predate their more famous incarnations, uncovering emotional threads that might have been buried under layers of production in their original forms. That intent is immediately clear in “Bound by Blood” and “The Book,” where restraint replaces grandeur, and silence becomes just as expressive as sound.
Tracks like “The Traveller” and “My Land” carry a sense of movement and nostalgia, evoking landscapes both physical and emotional. There’s a cinematic quality here, but it never feels overworked—MacNeil trusts the simplicity of the piano to carry the weight. “Brookside” and “A Long Walk to Freedom” are standout moments, balancing melancholy with quiet optimism, while “Fortune Favours the Brave” introduces a slightly more assertive touch without breaking the album’s reflective tone.
One of the album’s greatest strengths is its pacing. By the time we reach “A Quiet Miracle” and “After It Came Down,” there’s a feeling of closure—not dramatic, but deeply contemplative, like the final pages of a well-worn journal.
The bonus tracks expand the emotional palette even further. Pieces like “Beneath the Waves” and “The Dark Island” lean into a more traditional, almost folk-inspired sensibility, while “The Unknown Piano” feels like an improvisational sketch—raw, searching, and beautifully unresolved. “Farewell My Friend” and “Arthur’s Seat” close the extended collection on a note of gentle finality, reinforcing the album’s overarching themes of memory, place, and transformation.
What makes Themes From Glory Days compelling isn’t just its technical execution—though MacNeil’s playing is consistently elegant—but its intent. This is an artist looking backward not to relive past success, but to understand it. In doing so, he’s created something that feels timeless, introspective, and quietly moving.
Verdict: A deeply reflective piano album that trades nostalgia for nuance—best experienced in stillness, where its subtleties can fully resonate.
ARTIST : SHINY DARKNESS
ALBUM : MEGA SPEECH
RELEASED : 21/3/2026
With Mega Speech, Shiny Darkness sharpen their sonic identity into something both immersive and immediate—a record that thrives equally in shadowy club corners and on expansive alternative stages. The French outfit leans confidently into a sound built on pulsing electronics, jagged guitar lines, and hypnotic rhythmic structures, crafting an album that feels urgent without ever losing its atmospheric depth.
From the outset, the album establishes a dense, analog-rich palette. Synth textures hum and swell beneath driving basslines, while guitars cut through with a cold, post-punk edge. There’s a constant tension at play—between movement and mood, between danceability and introspection—that gives the record its distinctive pulse. Each track feels like part of a larger nocturnal landscape, cinematic in scope yet grounded in raw, physical energy.
SHINY DARKNESS from left to right
Gianluca Graziano - Sebastien Deruwez - Olivier Jacques
Katerina Pantazis
Lyrically and conceptually, Mega Speech taps into the fragmented noise of modern life. Voices blur into signals, communication becomes distortion, and meaning emerges through layers rather than clarity. This thematic focus translates seamlessly into the music itself, where overlapping elements build thick, melodic soundscapes that feel both chaotic and controlled.
What makes this album particularly compelling is its balance. Shiny Darkness expand their sonic reach without sacrificing the immediacy that defines them. The grooves remain tight and propulsive, the arrangements immersive but never indulgent. It’s a record that invites both movement and reflection—a rare duality that keeps it engaging from start to finish.
Ultimately, Mega Speech stands as a confident evolution for the band. It captures the essence of darkwave and post-punk while injecting a fresh, electronic intensity that feels very much of the present moment. For listeners drawn to music that pulses with tension, atmosphere, and rhythm, this is an album that demands to be experienced loud, late, and in full.
BUY DIRECT FROM THE SHINY DARKNESS STORE
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