Digital Soul in a Synthesized World

Electronic music hasn’t been with us very long. Until relatively recently it was obscure art music made with room-sized machines that were hugely expensive and difficult to operate. Sound synthesizers started to become accessible to musicians in the 1970s, and soon were ubiquitous in ‘80s pop and ‘90s dance music. Now, there are over 100 genres under the banner of electronic music, and synth tools abound. That seems like a good thing but, in taking over the world, has electronic music fallen into a rut? Critics have decried the staus quo for stale ideas and redundancy.

This month’s Right Brain Music Podcast episode features two artists that infuse fresh energy and soul into their unique brands of electronic and ambient music. They are Gold Gazebo, a trio of collaborators from Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico, and VWAM, five women based in Vancouver, B.C. The podcast features interviews with group leaders Chris Williams and Alice Hamilton and generous helpings of music from their new albums. Listen to the episode here.

VWAM’s second album is Les Fleurs du Mal

Gold Gazebo’s new album is Please Fall Awake.

Both VWAM and Gold Gazebo have used pandemic restrictions not just to find new ways to collaborate, but also as inspiration for their new collections. They also mix acoustic instruments in with classic and novel synth sounds, part of their recipe for adding fleurescence to genres better known for deferring entirely to technology. Both groups compose through improvisation.

There the similarities end, however. Gold Gazebo’s work resembles surreal sonic sculptures, while VWAM varies between moody ambient passages and electro-pop influenced pieces with free-form feral vocals. Neither is easy to describe, and that’s what makes both albums unique.

These artists are on a continuing journey, and the podcast captures this unique moment.