Jazzy, syncopated downtempo is what audiences can expect from London-based artist Synthonic, whose debut EP Sunshine just released last week on September 4, but don’t let “jazzy” fool you; we’re talking more Miles Davis than Count Bassie. Add to that a huge amount of distorted vocoder vocals and EDM-influenced beats, and Synthonic’s got one hell of an interesting piece.
Synthonic classes himself as jazz and blues before electronica or EDM, but all of his work is run through electronic means, and what it amounts to on Sunshine is a diverse album with funk, jazz and blues filtered through, per the artist’s name, synths. The best example of how the London producer marries all these genres in a way that’s palatable to EDMers is the EP’s title track. With lots of funk, disco and 80s synths elements, this track is run through a heavy hip hop/downtempo beat structure to make it modern, interesting and even something for an EDM festival dancefloor.
Synthonic has also brought back heavy vocoder styling to Sunshine in the afore-mentioned title track and in other tracks like “Head Banging” and “Come On, Get Up!” This throwback to the not so distant past is a fun addition to the already quite positive and happy music Synthonic creates. While even more jazzy than “Sunshine,” “Head Banging!” has a solid house beat that makes it quite danceable. It would be fun for a break piece during a sunshine set.
“Come On, Get Up!” on the other hand, is straight up groove funk. A downtempo beat is there, but it’s subtle in the wake of all the improv-style jazz. Other tracks on the EP are also more heavy-handed in the jazz department, such as “Groove Report,” released just a few days ago on Synthonic’s Soundcloud as the final single for the album’s release.
While Synthonic is firmly in the wheelhouse of jazz and blues, he definitely has a lot of potential for mixing with EDM, and indeed a number of tracks on Sunshine are already there. Since much of his work is actually synth-based, it would also be easy to remix the heck out of these five tracks, and here’s hoping Synthonic does that or collabs with someone in the EDM world. Between the jazz and vocoder, house and funky jungle remix possibilities abound.
Sunshine by Synthonic is out now and can be streamed in full on Spotify or iTunes. Select tracks area also available on Synthonic’s Soundcloud page. The EP can be purchased on CD Baby.