Perturbator releases an epic dark synthwave EP

Earlier this fall, French electronic music producer Perturbator released his latest EP New Model on the Blood Music record label. This is Perturbator’s seventh EP release and he also has released four full length studio albums. Perturbator gained a lot of mainstream success by having his music featured in the 2012 video game Hotline Miami and its 2015 sequel. Known for his infatuation with synthesizers, Perturbator has crafted a stellar dark synthwave EP. He lives up to the claim on his website that that he is half human and half synthesizer and showcases this on New Model.

The opening track on the EP, “Birth of the New Model” starts off at a slow ambient tempo. However, after about two minutes brutal drums kick in that feature a sick beat pattern. The build-up on the track continues throughout the entirety of the song and towards the end of the track the tempo increases greatly and Perturbator begins making use of distortion on his synths, something that permeates the entire EP.

The next track, “Tactical Precision Disarray,” comes in with a much darker tone and truly captures the dark synthwave feel of the album. The song maintains the same tempo as the opening track and follows a similar build up to a faster pace later in the song. Around the middle of the song is when the song is its heaviest and fastest, and it also makes great use of distortion on the synths. The song begins to die down with about a minute and a half left and has an extended outro.

The next song, “Vantablack,” features a slightly slower tempo than what listeners have heard thus far. It is also the only track to have any sort of vocal arrangement. The vocals are done by Perturbator himself and have a dreamy feel to them that works as an excellent compliment to the overall trippy vibe that is present on the rest of the track.

The EP picks up the tempo significantly on the following track “Tainted Empire.” The song once again makes heavy use of distortion on the synthesizers, which are also extremely thick and powerful. This is intertwined with powerful kick drum and slick snares. The song also features a couple of pretty epic bass drops.

The penultimate song “Corrupted By Design” takes a more moderate tempo but still maintains the heavier sound. The synthesizers don’t sound as thick and there is not as much distortion as there is on some of the other tracks. The song definitely maintains the darker tone that was set earlier in the EP and has an eerie feel to it.

The final song on the EP, “God Complex,” is a very long and epic track, sitting over nine minutes long. The song uses many different synths and lots of distortion, and combines this with carefully crafted build-ups that give the song its epic feel. Even though song is so long, it never gets tiresome to listen to because build ups within the song pull the listener through, having them look forward to whats to come next.

New Model is a true gem, not only for fans of dark synthwave, but for those who are new to the genre as well. Perturbator’s love for synths and his skill at using them truly shines on this project.