Let's Talk Synth... Seriously!!

I bet that if you're a music producer you've already made some experiences with platforms like SubmitHub or Groover or other platforms where you can directly address playlist curators with your newest releases! So I don't know about you, but I pretty often had situations where I scratched my head quite a bit over reactions of curators about my music or where I asked myself how my pitch would be perceived on the curator's end. So I thought: "Why not interview a really influential and interesting curator who's active on both platforms: SubmitHub and Groover as well?" And it gets even better, because that specific curator whom I asked for an interview is also a top notch Synth artist who's releasing music under no less than two monikers!! So I am so excited to present you the ninth episode of my podcast "Let's Talk Synth... Seriously!!" with an in-depth interview with BENJAMIN DIGBY, also known as SYNTH LOVER'S CAFÉ!! Enjoy!! Music played in the episode: SYNTH LOVERS CAFÉ & EMILY ZUZIK - On My Own: https://open.spotify.com/track/6tlDFlg9TkLO0qWDnRiCen?si=f4a80e8b3f514743 SYNTH LOVERS CAFÉ - Adrenaline: https://open.spotify.com/track/1VfvgZS5iuijcFy2BKq4w2?si=992ac329ae1c4fd1 SYNTH LOVERS CAFÉ/THE THIRD ENTITY - What Will Become Of Us (Synth Lovers Café Remix): https://open.spotify.com/track/7BkifuCz2f7ntTLu5zDJ8C?si=c0920ea5b134490f BENJAMIN DIGBY ft. ADAM WAVE - Rage: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/2FWqmsmrSUqc9EbONNr2g8?si=6014e8e39c914436 UAP & KATIE TICH: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/album/06etMIU9z47BRJYKUuhFXo?si=DRiugD2IROudK94y1u09nA Thanks for listening! And if you like it: Make sure to like the podcast and come back for other episodes!

Today my guest is an artist of whom I would claim for he’s at the threshold of establishing a new genre in Synth music, and I would call this genre: Progressive Synthwave! So, what do I mean with that? Just as in rock music there were bands like Saga or Yes or Rush who just tried to push the style they were in to its very limits, my artist today is pushing the Synthwave genre to former unknown grandezza. Of course I’m talking about Maxx Parker and if you haven’t heard his latest albums like “Infinite Blue” or “Lodge on the Lake” you should really do that because there’s such awesome work on those releases.   For the songs on his awesome debut album “Outsider” Maxx Parker collaborated with so fantastic artists like Young Empress, Syst3m Glitch and GeoVoc among others. Even on his debut album which was obviously aiming at the retrowave scene, Maxx was already far from being the average mainstream artist.   On his album “Infinite Blue” Maxx Parker incorporated many sounds formerly unknown in Synthwave/Retrowave like pan drums, synth pan flutes, all kinds of chaka-chaka percussion and also natural ambient sounds like splashing waves. Maxx Parker’s latest release to date was an EP called “Lodge on the Lake”. Personally I think, it’s my favourite release of him so far. So don't hesitate to check out this podcast episode with one of the most interesting and prolific producers of today's Synth scene! Music played in the episode: https://open.spotify.com/track/5sjlX4c1SAnzh85lQ1UdRU?si=fa91cc9df60640c9 https://open.spotify.com/track/405MzOxPMpP2edAVmz5CA8?si=3c5b872ab4524111 https://open.spotify.com/track/0qTjkSx3KApUGHCBRcBzcq?si=a048369186df43af https://open.spotify.com/track/01LiSxLapqCbPJJSh8G099?si=0c355052019940f9

Megan McDuffee is a one-of-a-kind artist: She's not only one of the most sought after creators of Soundtracks in for Video Games, TV and movies, she is also a brilliant songwriter and singer, be it with her own music or when collaborating with many renowned artists from the Synth scene. In the interview with her we talked about Soundtrack production, how to get a foot in the door, what special gear or software might be needed perhaps but we also talked about topics like how to cope with Social Media pressure and last but not least: Human Sexuality! 😳 Yes, folks! So let's dive right into the episode and check it out! Music in this episode: Megan McDuffee, Michael Garrett Steele - Under Your Knife https://open.spotify.com/track/10l89efj2a4saQtbAmG62Q?si=859e9b00ee0943f6 ALEX, Megan McDuffee - Villain https://open.spotify.com/album/5vJG3yF4eKZeD5jFWk0Vf5?si=uyqjFDNdTnyjm6DCgvwA4g Megan McDuffee - I'm Better Than You https://open.spotify.com/track/5kSZkpG1b2ZD5tpvhJ7LXV?si=1776436e8d9c459a Megan McDuffee - Drive To Nowhere https://open.spotify.com/track/3e4kpTsxR2zFAguQ74kIBH?si=dad2b9224f2d4773 UAP - Sugar https://open.spotify.com/track/5AMEpnOCbZBltywAyHHBZt?si=561157c1f27f435c

Let's Talk Synth... Seriously!! #6 MARTIN BROTHERS (March 2023) Hand on Heart: What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Switzerland? Perhaps it isn't Synth music?  Well... maybe it should be! Having a closer look at the land of Wilhelm Tell there's many a great Synth music act which is active in the Alps, but the most interesting among them all is maybe a project called the MARTIN BROTHERS, run by Zurich based brothers Niki and Oliver Martin. They've been in the scene for a decade now and 2023 is their MARTIN BROTHERS anniversary year! So we talk about ten years of MARTIN BROTHERS project, the gear they use on stage and in the studio and how it feels like to have almost (!) crashed a DeLorean!! 😱😂 Music in this episode: Martin Brothers & Pensacola Mist - Heart to Heart: https://open.spotify.com/track/5HeDpsx93jHUz0EE1Gv69Q?si=40f83bed7e294153 Martin Brothers - Singing Out Loud: https://open.spotify.com/track/6mA9a6E1U7eBUehOROhgkC?si=4a8d1bce48d64933 Martin Brothers - Love is Optional: https://open.spotify.com/track/62BUVDDIrCoudirMrL4VJm?si=bcc4efa886b74d5b Martin Brothers - Love Lockdown Now: https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZqUmXviSpwwgVJExhRg94?si=2df98d095f004fc2 UAP feat. Katie Tich - City Be Your Monster

"Martinic" is one of the leading companies in the business of virtual instrument and FX plug-ins, also known as VSTs. Everybody who's making music on a computer will be using either virtual effects or virtual instruments to some extent, but not many know how they are actually made. "Martinic" CEO Martin Broerse tells us about his company, how they work both under licence for big brand names (which we all know and love) and under their own brand name, how it's achieved that vintage Synthesizers from the 1980s or even analogue combo Organs from the 1960s gain a second life as a virtual instrument plug-in, what the challenges are in virtual modelling such instruments and why Martin would never give away one specific piece of hardware (!) from his own collection of instruments. In a nutshell: This is a super, SUPER interesting episode for everyone who's interested in digital music and production technology! ...and it contains a lot of exclusive music by UAP (myself) which (by the time of release of this episode) isn't available anywhere else except on this very podcast episode.  

In 2022 there was a lot of synthesizer driven music, and you'll surely have your own favorites. But have you ever wondered what were the favorite songs of the year by well-known musicians from genres like synthwave, synth pop and retrowave? Well, in this episode of "Let's Talk Synth... Seriously!!" I asked many musicians from different genres exactly about that. And in this episode, we'll not only hear the voices of the musicians themselves announcing their music requests, but because of that, of course, there's a lot of great music to listen to! The Musicians who will tell us about their own Synth favourites in 2022 in this episode are: Aisle9, &Tilly, Blue Nagoon, Breathes With Gills, Color Theory, The Death Beats, Minute Taker, Roundtrip to Tiny, Synth Lovers Café, Thalrex and Fonz Tramontano. Thank you so much to all of you for taking part in the action! I really appreciate it! And because at the end of the year you just like to invite good friends to review the year once again, I invited my musical collab partner Katie Tich to join me as a co-host for the episode. Katie is a singer/songwriter from the US East Coast, and together with her I recorded the song "Talita", which was recently voted among the "Top 15 Pop Songs of 2022" by Blue Nagoon in his video blog on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ymUgvu-yewE With Katie Tich I talked about her own career, about Christmas and New Year's customs and about the synthesizers she likes to combine with guitar as a singer/songwriter; but we also talked about more serious topics such as mental health issues and how music can help to cope with them, or how 2022 has advanced the social divide and how not to let it discourage you. If you liked this episode, there is a Spotify-playlist that sums up all the music that can be heard in the episode ...and even more.  And here it is: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5TCqa02vzdd1aHpsGLvcex?si=7921653b6fdb4148&pt=2a4c20fec19aa7211220c4c2e44a4f56 Also consider to support your favourite artists by buying their music digitally or on physical discs on services with fair conditions such as e.g. www.bandcamp.com 

“Minute Taker” is the musical project of Ben McGarvey, who’s active as an independent artist since the late 2000s. His latest album “Wolf Hours” is one of the most dedicated musical statements in today’s Synth Pop and will be of very high interest to fans who love actual 80s pop music like Fleetwood Mac’s “Mirage”, Genesis’ self-titled 1983 album or Tanita Tikaram’s “Ancient Heart”. In this Episode Ben tells us where to begin when you wanna have real good music videos, why the stock plug-ins of your DAW might be much better than you think they are or why it can be a good thing to do an acoustic cover version every now and then. Ben will also give some information about his experiences with Crowdfunding and how he built his own subscription model without using Patreon. Apart from that we’ll be talking about his music, his many collaborations and cover songs and which gear he used in the recording process for his latest album “Wolf Hours”. Music played in the episode: Minute Taker – Lead You Home: https://open.spotify.com/track/2S9YFSzmmQ3sC7fHVMni8w?si=bb8d85f7c8434769 Minute Taker & Color Theory – Just and Echo: https://open.spotify.com/album/319VcAfP8Rg5mi4OW0C1IA?si=-c9j6WDZSOupYA2CXuAZEw Minute Taker – Wait For Me: https://open.spotify.com/track/6C0nEwBeIR5PUQ2mmietwq?si=dbcb8893f5f747d5 Minute Taker & Megan McDuffy – Mirror: https://open.spotify.com/track/1MGzVmkF1MxoYHw154cMLu?si=1e9804a4684a48f2 UAP – And Then I Die A Little: https://open.spotify.com/track/3DXtxnEZmlB8UQ77Ow6gGR?si=e97a961e794f407a Artist Links: Minute Taker: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2kjd9eTgBXRmPZZoEFiXVY?si=vi6nG5xnSVijfArWj1XvyA UAP: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1fEqRExfCuTtAfM8md9Phf?si=6BT3krBrT1GLy5nUz2tSSg

Gary J. Robinson is a legend in the British Drum & Bass scene. Today he's the mastermind behind the inventive project "THE DEATH BEATS" merging styles like D&B, Folk and Synthwave. In earlier stages of his career Gary was involved in very renowned projects such as "RareForm", "PoisonFlow" and some others. He worked for Goldie's "MetalheadZ" label and founded a couple of influential record labels. Today - besides his work as an artist, label owner and playlist curator - Gary is also an expert in Sync licensing and other aspects of publishing which are sometimes neglected by artists. In the interview with him we're talking about his exciting biography in the Drum & Bass scene which started on a Commodore Amiga home computer, but we're also covering some interesting aspects in regard to distribution, licensing and playlist submission services. This makes this episode very rewarding to listen to for every active electronic music producer and/or self-publisher but of course most of all for dedicated fans of "THE DEATH BEATS"  Music played in the episode: RareForm: Spinechilla https://open.spotify.com/track/4qw1qetuHZbPeb0SO8r0NY?si=3c439f7a057f48bc PoisonFlow: Fear of Mind Giving Way https://open.spotify.com/track/617NM9GWNcC7hltRqPdPzn?si=91a286e5615946b9 The Death Beats (feat. Little Panda): Monsters (Drum & Bass Mix) https://open.spotify.com/track/0kWPy7yzb93JVkfhpd8RLb?si=06ef226c08b44d95 The Death Beats (feat. Harbottle & Jonas): U Were Mine (Synthwave Mix) https://open.spotify.com/track/722YKV2i102wFzbGlpGkcv?si=2ae2a4064894433f UAP: Believer https://open.spotify.com/track/62FQHOU3tplIZCzEfeBAl9?si=a3295c499c154977 Artist Links: The Death Beats: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3bVpsQVqj2PXwHwBGIkQVI?si=gy8IgqmtRb-5wNpdYILUEA UAP: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1fEqRExfCuTtAfM8md9Phf?si=6BT3krBrT1GLy5nUz2tSSg

Let’s talk Synth... Seriously!!! – Episode #1: Interview with COLOR THEORY (Brian Hazard) COLOR THEORY is one of the most loved projects in today’s synth music scene. It’s the brainchild of Brian Hazard, who is singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, professional music producer and mastering engineer, blogger and podcaster – ...all in one! Brian started his project COLOR THEORY almost thirty years ago and it's still - or maybe even more than ever before - one of the most influential projects in the scene. Music played in the episode: Color Theory – Crystal https://open.spotify.com/album/5J93t1ceASnHb3rlbuHxvY?si=Pybvq2sVTPO4egtikGz7Cg Color Theory – Ponytail Girl https://open.spotify.com/track/5qmFGrEwy6Pikc2DHBR15h?si=eceaaedf14a24064 Color Theory – Slot Machine https://open.spotify.com/track/4XtFKgoylZLm2kWJCx02O5?si=fa2d7cf9c5d84c8d UAP + Katie Tich – Talita https://open.spotify.com/track/6vuSxn8IJqM64WmBdGrlos?si=ff70dc1fc3184df3 Artists involved in the episode: Color Theory: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7uWMG0Go7YMKqVG1fbsOBO?si=2ThfaMryS9qkq7Ipk7wtww https://colortheory.bandcamp.com/ Katie Tich: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0FVai2xz6tjhZehnaIWPGN?si=EN6LbiFbQ4G9TkovgCj5sw https://katietich.bandcamp.com/ UAP: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1fEqRExfCuTtAfM8md9Phf?si=4_0ChtlcSxC40zS6Te8LIA https://uapsynth.bandcamp.com/