From Electro Pop to Electronic Ecstasy

Some of the songs for Electronic Ecstasy were written during the Electro Pop sessions. Picking up where “Electro Pop” left off, “Electronic Ecstasy” kicks off with the title track hinting at what a collaboration between Giorgio Moroder and Kraftwerk might have yielded. A relentlessly tight sequenced bassline pushes the song forward about nights out clubbing around the world.

Always (Alone) was another song dating from earlier days in Munich Syndrome. It had a kind of Pet Shop Boys feel.

Anywhere (But Here) was also an early number in Munich Syndrome’s history. This is a short clip from the mid-80’s.

Dream Sequence #3 is a trippy instrumental that recalls some of William Orbit’s work with Torch Song.

Celebrate is an all-out dance track about… celebrating.

2 Whom is the first complete song done in the earliest days of Munich Syndrome. It has undergone many changes over time. This is a very synth-pop version of it. This is also our first effort at syncing the animation.

Endings (Rock RMX) began life as a very bare-boned synth-pop number, but trying some different arrangements it ended up with some guitar and a rock feel.

Metro is an instrumental that was almost lost when the previous desktop imploded, and MANY sessions and files were completely lost. It turned out there was a reference master that survived that ruin.

Dreams (or Memories?) is also a track written much earlier. This version varies quite a bit from the original and ended up with a rather Kraftwerk vibe to it. A more electro version is currently being worked on.

Fear. Panic. Dread. emerged from an experimental session with our first version of ProTools and a Virus and DX7 synth. This was also used as the soundtrack for an indie film.

Watching You was written about surveillance that most people can do themselves from the comfort of their own laptop or phone. And also, a cautionary tale that not everything goes unnoticed or unobserved. The video was done by our very talented and creative friends Stage Parades!

Random was giddy instrumental and felt like a good palette cleanser after the darkness of Fear and Watching You.

Electronic Ecstasy (Extended Ecstasy Mix) was our next effort at extending a track, while keeping the essence of the original, we opened it up and expanded up on the percussion.

Always (Alone) (Full Orchestral Mix) began life as two separate songs, but in the studio the key and tempo suggested merging the two giving a slower but more expansive opening to the song.

Anywhere (But Here) (Here and Now Mix) opens the arrangements of the original and includes a sax solo at the end, vs. a more traditional fade-out.

Signals closes out the album. Dreamier, atmospheric and more downtempo and experimental it comes to a quiet conclusion.

Electronic Ecstasy utilizes and pushes the vocoder further up front into the mix. More time was spent refining the mix between actual singing and the electronic processing of the classic vocoder. Adding this element to classic electronic pop songs of unrequited love, loss and what comes next. Analog synthesizers are front and center, along with classic beat boxes, sequencers and a full arsenal of state-of-the-art production. Unforgettable melodies, combined with vocoded harmonies placed over the insistent throb of propulsive club beats and bass drives Electronic Ecstasy to new heights.

Songs range from the classic synthpop of “2 Whom” and “Always (Alone)” to the “T-Rex meets the Cars” new-wave pop-rock of “Endings (Rock RMX)”. “Anywhere (But Here)” blends the unlikely genres of jazz saxophone with New Order-esque drums and a hard electro bass line. The cerebral (but dance-floor ready) “Dream Sequence #3” flows into the dance-pop of “Celebrate”.

The album takes a darker turn after the melodic instrumental “Metro” with the Kraftwerk-esque “Dreams (or Memories?)” and then descends into the claustrophobic minimalism of “Fear. Panic. Dread.” Following is “Watching You”, a high-tech cautionary tale of surveillance in an overly connected world, set to a heavy dance beat and screaming analog synth leads. “Random” follows with an effervescent electronic shuffle.

The album closes with four bonus tracks:

“Electronic Ecstasy (Extended Ecstasy Mix)”, “Always (Alone) (Full Orchestral Mix)”, “Anywhere (But Here) (Here and Now Mix)” and the atmospheric and ambient-tinged “Signals”.

Electronic Ecstasy is mastered in HDCD® by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, Inc., for enhanced audio fidelity. HDCD® encoded discs will play on all CD Players.