Canada’s Parallels and the UK’s Futurecop! have each been making retro-tinged synthesizer-driven music for a decade. Like the Valerie Collective, the Rosso Corsa crew, and others, Parallels and Futurecop! have each helped to pioneer and shape what would later be called “synthwave.”
So you could say it’s a very good development that today they reveal a collaboration called “Edge of the Universe,” which will feature on the upcoming Futurecop! album to be released next year. Listen to the song below. The video is to premiere on NewRetroWave today.
“Edge of the Universe” is huge, its potential infinite, and your connection with the song assured. It’s got an uplift that both Futurecop! and Parallels pull off with ease. Parallels singer Holly Dodson’s Kate-Bush-meets-Robyn vocals soar over gigantic synthscapes as she sings triumphantly about being “a voyager at the edge/at the edge of the universe.”
The forthcoming album, as with last year’s transcendent LP, Return to Alvograth, gathers its thematic inspiration from Eastern philosophy and religion, according to a Futurecop! press release. This time, though, there will be a stronger emphasis on Futurecop!’s love of the 1980s and late 1990s, the release says. It’ll be a lovely blend of their sensibilities.
Buy the full Edge of the Universe release on Bandcamp, which includes remixes by Robert Parker, Morgan Willis, LLLL, and Beautiful Machines.
According to Futurecop!’s press release, here’s the story behind “Edge of the Universe”:
The single, “Edge of the Universe,” is a story of a girl in Japan, leaving to go to a prom, living in the today, whilst also living in her favorite ’80s Americana teen film: a metaphor for someone being themselves. The majority of the album moves around the Western thought of pop culture from the ’80s and ’90s and flips it with a Japanese touch.
The single speaks about an awakening of finding an innocence which was lost in time, having the courage to step into the unknown, stepping out of dreaming, out of the man-made systematic daily routine of life and into the real reality of who you truly are — your true nature. Whilst it’s lonely, she hopes and waits for others. The protagonist —even though it is 2018 — is being herself, living in her own reality of the ’80s and the Kawaii style.
And the story behind the album, according to the press release:
The new album will tie in their love of all things ’80s and early ’90s nostalgia with their more mystical/spiritual side that came across in the experimental album Return to Alvograth.
The majority of the album will feature vocalists from around the world; an increased interest in guitars; and retro synthesizers with uplifting and melodic hooks. The concept behind the album is as always based around an imaginative story, this time following a bunch of kids while they adventure through the ’80s in space — in fantasy, in dreams, with hints of anime influences, and finding spirituality, all through a mystical Eastern dimension. Listeners will be able to follow the adventure and emotion through each track.
The album is created to touch on all the heartfelt moments of childhood and growing up — encompassing a portal to a time and moments when all was innocent — whilst also regaining the strength to bring back these feelings in adult life through ancient Eastern teachings from Taoism, Buddhism (Mahayana and Zen), Shaolin Kung Fu, and Sufism.
(Editor’s Note: Both reprints edited for clarity and house style.)
For more information on Futurecop!, here’s an interview I did with them in 2015 and a review of Fairy Tales from 2014.
