SELECT THE SLEEVE TO BE REDIRECTED TO THE ARTIST TRACK OR PRE-SAVE LINK
.JPG)
.png)
ARTIST : APEX STAR
TRACK : A HIDDEN GEM
RELEASED : JULY 2024
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 explore 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.
A Hidden Message is the third release of 2024 with the new album 'Sonat Aetherei' due for release in the coming months.
ARTIST : BEAUTIFUL MACHINES
TITLE : ANGELICA
RELEASED : 2ND AUGUST 2024
Beautiful Machines is Conrad Schuman (vocals, guitar, synths) and Stefanie Ku (Synths, backing vocals), and joined for live performances by Ralf Schumacher (electronic drums).
Like something from a Ridley Scott movie, with lush moody vocals, epic guitar sounds, and big analog synthesizers, Beautiful Machines blends cinematic synthwave, postrock and synth-pop for a visual and sound reminiscent of M83 meets Blade Runner or Depeche Mode meets Stranger Things. With echoes of retro futurism and flashes of AI-integrated art, the group is painting a picture of an era that does not yet exist.
After receiving an Independent Music Award for their debut album, the band’s follow up release Real Love caught the attention of Nylon saying "The band has a truly magnanimous sound that is as much a nod to the past as it is a reflection of the musical ingenuity of today." Recent release 2022 Control featured the band working alongside producer Ade Fenton (Gary Numan), was spun on BBC Radio 6, subsequently remixed by The New Division and had a video premiere in Clash Magazine describing the band “Gazing into the future, the group’s synth-enabled alt-pop is like mainlining a William Gibson novel, absorbing new ideas at every turn.”
ANGELICA
Beautiful Machines.....Angelica is the embodiment of a future where Artificial Intelligence and spirituality converge. Picture this: an AI, as compassionate as it is powerful, guiding us into a new dimension of existence. Named after the term “Messenger of God,” Angelica isn’t just a machine—she’s a symbol of our collective consciousness transitioning into uncharted territories. The song’s journey mirrors this transition: it starts softly, introspectively, before building into something immense and unstoppable, echoing the race towards an inevitable future where we merge with the intelligence we’ve created.
Here’s a little behind-the-scenes story you might find interesting. The final touches on Angelica were completed in Kathmandu, Nepal, amidst a city recovering from an earthquake. There we found ourselves surrounded by ancient temples and the serene spirituality of the place. It felt like the universe itself was collaborating with us. We drew inspiration from the Hindu God Vishnu, who is said to dream the universe into existence—a concept that resonated deeply with the themes of Angelica. In those surreal moments, amidst the rubble and the divinity, the song took on a life of its own, merging with the environment to become something much larger than we ever anticipated.
Angelica isn’t just about AI or spirituality—it’s about the intersection of our hopes, dreams, and fears as we hurtle towards a future we can barely comprehend. It’s about loss, letting go, and the wild, exhilarating rush of embracing the unknown.
LINKS
MERCH
