Visions

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Disasteradio

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Normally: ~~$27.95~~
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Smoke Notes

Wellington's Disasteradio (Luke Rowell to his mum) has been wowing audiences up and down the country for several years with his one-man synth-pop antics. 'Visions' is his umpteenth album but the first that's been given wide release, thanks to the newly formed A Low Hum label.

As children of the ‘80s it’s perfectly understandable to be disappointed with our current lack of everyday hover cars and robotic servants; we grew up under the impression that by the year 2000 they would be a given. Instead we get a repetition; the neon baggy t-shirt wearing wearing synth-pop infused 80s revival.
But, for Luke Rowell – aka Disasteradio – it’s not a revival because he never let go of it. The ideals, technology and most importantly the music of the 1980s are as central to him now as they were then. On his latest album ‘Visions’ Rowell has played out his childhood memories. Futuristic movies, TV shows and computer games, The Cure, dreams of the future of technology, Devo and the idioms (like such terms as ‘rad’ and ‘awesome’) all serve as inspirations.
Rowell, along with his computer, has been a staple in the indie scene in New Zealand with his tongue in cheek “get your party on” synth-pop for the past four years and comes about regardless of the fairly recent revival of new wave and synth pop. He does not set out to especially make songs about the ‘80s. He just unpretentiously states “I really like synthesizer pop music and I’m kind of good at it.”
‘Visions’ was originally going to be an album based on the ‘80s concept of virtual reality, a concept Rowell was obsessed with for a while, but he found he had actually “ended up writing TV themes,” so television became a loose concept throughout the writing of ‘Visions’ .Some of these TV themes he has in mind are “some sort of Quantum Leap style thing where the guys a track runner but he also got to solve crimes, but he’s got like a robotic leg” for the track ‘Marathon.”
Aside from some wicked keyboard solos, ‘Visions’ -which is dominantly synth focused does feature Rowell’s voice, such as ‘Digital Pop’ and ‘Awesome Feeling,’ for which Rowell likes to use- what he attributes to Wellington band Cortina’s technique of mumbling over a song, then playing it back to pick out words, where “you might get one word and it will be good. Its way easier than sitting down and going –I’m going to write a song about this –its more flow of conscience, it feels totally natural.”
Perhaps in the future Rowell’s mash up of odes to 80s pop culture and future looking pop will be playing the soundtrack to an ironic 2012 rendition of a 1980s Sega game- but transposed to the latest PS10. You never know what the future holds. Either way to ensure you’re immediate future is a happy one.
- Stacey Knott (TheSet.co.nz)

Product Details

Artist: Disasteradio
Album: Visions
Cat #: hum032
Date: 11/10/2007
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Label: A Low Hum
Usually Ships: 2 - 6 Days
Genres: Alt/Indie/Punk , Dance , Electronic , New Zealand
Normally: ~~$27.95~~
SmokeCDs Price: $22.95