Nostalgia is undoubtedly one of the current trends in media production and Envotion offers aplenty on their debut album.
Whether it’s the 1980’s influence of the electronic music retrowave or the same decades power on current film-making trends (I’m looking at you Ready Player One), there is keen interest in the impact of yesteryear on modern music production techniques. Envotion, for their part, brings the full front of 1980’s nostalgia with their debut album We Are, which recently dropped over on Armada Music.
The trio is not new to the sound by any stretch – just check out the track that first caught my ear titled “Still Here” and released back in 2014. The note of 1980’s synthesizers and atmosphere cannot be lost on that track. Unsurprisingly, the formula works brilliantly when extended to an album – especially one driven by talent honed over the past fourteen years.
Let’s dive through some of the motifs and stylistic choices throughout and explore the places that drive the album towards greatness. Start listening below and read on for more!
Stream Envotion – We Are on Spotify:
From the opening notes of “Latest News” it’s easy to hear the 80’s influence.
Whether you call out the two-step beat or the synthesizer choices, the track bleeds warmth characteristic of the elder productions. The stepped melody of “Old Booze” instantly gravitated me to one of my favorite albums of last year – Oliver’s Full Circle. The mood and tempo feel right in place with productions of the here and now, but there is still this lingering feeling of the awesome sounds of old.
The builds of “Light Wave” and “Gravitate” harken back to Porter Robinson’s Worlds album sans the glitchy effects work.
There is a brightness in this album – an upward swell of not just energy but the mood that permeates the work as a whole. “Gravitate” exudes this swell beautifully. It may also be a reflection of the track’s working in parallel as we stay in key during this part of the album but jump between major and minor keys.
“Prisma” offers to dazzle the ears with a sound that perfectly fits the early dance floor in a night, while “Harmonics” offers something that sounds like it’d be right at home in Eric Prydz’s musical library. The showcase of sounds that flutter make “Prisma” a fun journey, and “Harmonics” excels at a layered musical bed that nothing feels out-of-place.
“All We Have” dishes out the first vocal song on the album – and fills the mind with images of years gone by.
Another foundation of the round of nostalgia the album percolates with. Even the lyric at the climax of verse, “the future was always here,” makes the mind swim in the sea of possibilities stuck in the past.
“Heroes” has the listener dive full tilt into the 1980’s production with a running backing synthesizer line, a plucked stab melody, and this subtle vocal line that enraptures the ears. There’s a classic Michael Cassette vibe for those familiar with the older Anjunadeep catalog that “Heroes” really brings back.
“Fortezza” brings the energy back into the album’s vibe and revs the sound a bit to really take you on the journey. While in Italian the word represents fortress, there’s little that alludes to that mood in the track. Instead, we wind through the mountains with the top down as we explore the varied landscapes around said bastion.
“Helix” would be a track that recent readers may recognize as it opened our 100th Artist Spotlight mix.
Interested parties can jump to the mix by checking out the article. It’s a winding experience that utilized strong stabs, brooding synthesizers, and sprinkles a soft airy synth on top… then suddenly the energy kicks into gear with an ever-present tension that never catapults towards a development. The approach of the drone is nothing new – in vogue not too many years ago by the likes of DJ Remy and other Progressive House producers of the mid-2000’s. It’s the track I instantly sank my teeth into and love the versatility the soundscape offers.
With “Outro” the album closes its doors – but not without hope. Despite the darkness and depths of the last few tracks of the album, this track serves as a reminder that the world can lift on up as well. The key, E Major, may have something to do with the mood as well – it’s the key where uplifting, religious, intimate, or delightful moods tend to reside on the sonic wheel.
The nostalgia is ever-present in a style uniquely Envotion, and the mood is ever-changing while retaining that beauty of familiar ease.
If you want an album to put on during a friendly get together, or one that’s grand for just about any drive, pick yourself up a copy of this fun sonic ride. The price of admission for a little bit of honest nostalgia without any of the funky tang of sounding too old makes the album a diamond in the rough out there.
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