Do you struggle with job-related or social anxiety? Do you wake up in the middle of the night, heart hammering in your chest, wondering if this is the heart attack that will finally get you? Do you look at the volume of rainfall instead of the clouds’ silver lining? Then you need Lux In Tenebris.
Side effects include: elevated levels of dopamine in your brain at peak levels of emotional arousal caused by the synthesizer music in this EP. Consult your nearest audiologist if symptoms persist, there may be a blockage in your ear canal.
About the EP
On February 8, 2022, I released Lux In Tenebris — a 6-song EP full of synthwave and synthpop tunes.
The title, Lux In Tenebris, is Latin for “light in darkness.” And it consists of 6 tracks of synthwave instrumentals for happier living. This doesn’t mean the entire EP is bouncy, shiny, and happy. It DOES mean that it’s a serious weapon against ennui and uncertainty.
The truth is, it’s an extended musical memoir for my father. I produced Requiescat In Pace for his death in 2021, and I wrote Lux In Tenebris for his life.
Lux In Tenebris: Track Details
- Not Someone You Want to Mess With 03:13
A happy tune that vacillates between upbeat and perky with half-time rhythms and a braggadocious synth solo. The incongruous title just came to mind. I wasn’t thinking about my dad at the time, but now it does make sense. My dad had an abysmal temper (that I inherited) and wasn’t someone who’d take mediocre performance from you. -
Dies Feriatus (Days at Leisure) 03:35
Remember those old 80s dramas with heartbroken teens and summers that never seemed to end? This synthpop tune just brings all that back. It’s a memory. Captured with all the grainy imperfection of a VHS tape. It’s a ballad to lost youth. -
The Collected Syndrome Drawing Down 03:36
Subtly sinister, this slow tune combines sinuous bass with thudding drums, gongs, and a Chinese erhu sample. -
In a Cloud of Smoke 03:41
My father always seemed to be surrounded by a cloud of cigarette smoke. The smoke clung to the walls at home and to his clothes. This homage to that smoke uses synths reminiscent of the Stranger Things soundtrack. -
Five Fourths 02:56
My dad loved jazz. Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” was a favorite. I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if I could program something electronic in a 5/4 time signature and make it work? Hence the acoustic jazz sound complete with distorted organ, keyboards, bass, and acoustic drum samples. -
Sunset in Constantinopole 03:18
The climax of this EP is this track, which tries to bring forth, using sound, one glorious afternoon with my parents and sisters, on a sunset cruise on the Bosphorus Strait, the waterway in Turkey that divides the Turkey side from the European side. Istanbul was a perfect place to visit, an exotic mystery, a beautiful gem of history. The afternoon was a perfect memory, golden in its remembering.
Lux In Tenebris: Album Credits
All music and programming: Acid42 (Lionel Valdellon)
Release date: February 8, 2022
Album cover design: Alessio Marella @maregraphic_design (on Instagram)