Hyetal - Broadcast
Cover Artwork
Perhaps I was a bit overwhelmed after the fist couple of listens, but after being hooked on Hyetal‘s debut album for two weeks, I think I can safely call this one of my favorites of the year. And it came as a suprise, as I haven't really followed his music so far - shame on me. But then again, Broadcast is pretty different from those dancefloor oriented EPs released on Punch Drunk or Build Recordings.
Overall, the record is clearly eighties inspired, washed out, colourful and sometimes appearing out of tune like the tapes from your childhood. It brings to mind artists such as mind John Carpenter, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Cure or contemporaries such as Tropics, M83 and to some extend Lone or Ital Tek.
02. Diamond Islands
03. Phoenix
04. Beach Scene
05. The Chase
06. Searchlight
07. Dime Piece
08. Boneyard
09. Transmission
10. Black Black Black
Broadcast draws its space from reverbing drums and the ethereal synthesizers creating ever beautiful and melancholic melodies. The atmosphere sometimes drifts into darker parts like on Ritual or The Chase, but the overall vibe of the record is uplifting like on the standout tracks Phoenix, Beach Scene or Searchlight. Occasional vocal appearances add some variety, but even without those the tracks nicely flow into each other, making it easy to listen to the album from start to end.
Already available since end of May, Black Acre offers this album on CD, LP and digital download. While DJs will be happy about the generous triple disc vinyl option, vinyl collectors might feel a bit left out as they only get half of the tracks featured on the CD. Apart from Phoenix, which previously saw a seperate release, all the important tracks are on that LP.
In the meantime, Black Acre also made a remix from Fantastic Mr Fox available for free download, while Hyetal put together a mix of influential tracks for The Fader. Also, don't sleep on the free remix he made for Ratatat.