The Modern Conundrums is 7 synthwave /synthpop vocal songs that try to tackle the everyday dilemmas we face in the modern world, set to music that would appeal to fans of Depeche Mode, Thomas Dolby, Human League, Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, and Heaven 17.
This album brings together the songs I’ve recorded in the past 2 years that match the chosen theme.
What are Those Modern Conundrums?
Throughout the album, I try to examine various situations which are uniquely modern, tainted by rapidly developing technology and our human reactions to them, and how these behaviors affect our relationships.
Below, I outline the conundrums for each song and what I wanted to express with each track.
- Winter Dream: Being in a committed relationship with someone who then wants to leave to find themselves
- 3 Hours 15 Minutes: You’re dying to talk but the person across from you is more interested in checking every single phone notification that arrives. There is a lack of communication despite severe phone addiction. Turns out Americans spend an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes on their mobile devices every day
- Walking With Dolby: Despite the rapid development of tech, it’s only music from 35 years in the past that lets you find equanimity and peace. Nostalgia for old pop culture — while drowning in uncountable new variants of the same.
- Another Madman Vying for the Crown: The son of a once-despised, long-dead king comes to claim his father’s throne… without qualifications, without charisma or real power. And the people let him, nay, they even prop him up as the kingdom’s savior
- After This our Exile: Missing your homeland while simultaneously hating it and being exiled from it. Imagine wanting so badly to leave your home country, only to end up wandering in the desert that is other lands, wishing you could go back home
- You Are the Guillotine: One partner believes the vaccine works, another partner believes it doesn’t. Who gets to the cut the decision in half? The guillotine.
- Northern Sky: What happens when discouragement comes from the very people you trust? Crisis. Chaos. Diminishment. Thankfully, the human spirit rises above its challenges and inevitably aims for the stars no matter the response of the people around.
What the Album Sounds Like
Like my previous album of vocal songs, The Only Water Flowing, this release takes a lot of inspiration from U.K. new wave / new romantic bands of the late 80s such as: Heaven 17, Depeche Mode, and Tears for Fears. And I particularly wanted to point out that my love for Thomas Dolby’s music ended up as the song “Walking With Dolby.”
This is the music I grew up with, the music that formed me.
So hats off to all who listen to synthpop, synthwave, retrowave, and electronic dance music. May this music bring you to a place above your problems. Happy listening.