I recently noticed that there had been no new releases from Mr. Firechild for a while…apparently, my wish must have been pulled through the air conditioning vent, and made its way to Sweden, and into the analog-synth-fortified studio where Mr. Firechild works away like a mad scientist amidst his new and classic vintage gear, as I just found The White Whale released today!
The White Whale is a reliable collection of retro-inspired synthwave. If the cover photo is any indication, the album title possibly refers to the nickname of the massive Oberheim set-up, which appears to be a 4-voice with four addition Oberheim SEM modules up top. This would make sense, given Firechild’s penchant for song names inspired by the particular instruments featured in the piece.
I had first become acquainted with Firechild’s work when searching for examples of the recently-released Behringer Poly D, which I was interested in purchasing for my home studio. The track that I found on Youtube (see above) has turned up on this release as the song “Poly Dee”, a delightfully energetic, melodic tune with an intro that appears to pay homage to Don Airey’s legendary intro to “Mr. Crowley”, which was likely performed on a Polymoog, serving as a fitting example of how the Poly D‘s paraphony can take its Minimoog architecture to some polyphonic territory. (I tread carefully here, as any mention of polyphony pertaining to the Poly D inevitably devolves into pedantic lectures about the differences between polyphony and paraphony).
Another brilliant song whose title was directly inspired by the gear used to create it is the wonderfully upbeat “A Day Off With the Prophet“. A video for this song was released this last Spring on Youtube, and features the massive Sequential Circuits Prophet-10.
“How Can Less Be More” is a particularly impressive neo-classical track, originally posted to Youtube to demonstrate the capabilities of the Behringer TD-3 synthesizer, a clone of Roland’s legendary TB-303. Rather than the typical step-sequenced acid bass lines that are so common of this instrument, in Firechild’s hands it takes on the role of a contrapuntal orchestral bass in a baroque-inspired context.
Other notable tracks which also serve to showcase the gear featured in their arrangements are “The Generate Song”, which features the Stylophone GEN R-8 (big brother of the Stylophone GEN-1X we recently featured on SynthJunky). “Xerxes” introduces us to Black Corporation’s stunning Elka Synthex clone.
Through all of Firechild’s instrument-specific references, please do not dismiss these works as mere advertisements for the gear they feature. Firechild is a formidable composer and producer. The songs are beautiful and catchy enough for any dance floor or radio station. With retro synthwave catching on thanks to artists such as The Weeknd, who made waves with his smash hit “Blinding Lights”, I would not be surprised to find this talented artist credited in the liner notes of some future platinum-selling, Grammy-winning hits.
Be sure to grab yourself a copy of The White Whale, and revel in the delicious analog soundscapes.
Categories: Synth Music
