If you haven’t gotten on to the Dream System 8 bandwagon yet, I highly recommend you do. The LA-based synth-pop duo’s latest single, “I Like The Way That You Hold Me,” is further evidence of their rewarding penchant for taking 1980s Vince Clarke popcraft and blending it with modern synth-pop sensibilities. Erica Elektra and David Klotz are veteran musicians and it shows.
Klotz’s name will sound familiar to Vehlinggo readers. I recently interviewed him and composer Mac Quayle about their work on American Horror Story: 1984. Klotz is also music editor on Stranger Things, recording that killer rendition of the theme to The NeverEnding Story in Season 3 this year. But you will have also learned a ton about Elektra’s and Klotz’s mutual story as a band in this profile from last year, when they released their delectable debut album, We Sleep Again.
They record with synths and gear largely from the early ’80s — an array of names some of you will recognize, like Roland, Yamaha, LinnDrum, and Omnichord. Surely, this plays a key role in why the band’s Vangelis, The Human League, Tangerine Dream, and Duran Duran influences shine through each song.
On the buoyant love song “I Like The Way That You Hold Me,” Klotz and Elektra give us their best work yet. The cut is loaded with layers of catchy melodies, engaging rhythms, and meaningful lyrics about interpersonal relationship dynamics that Elektra delivers with comforting aplomb. I welcome the song’s intricately woven enthusiasm and feeling of goodwill, which comes at a time when we desperately need it.
“I Like The Way That You Hold Me” releases officially tomorrow, Nov. 1.
(Feature Photo: (L-R): David Klotz, Erica Elektra. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman.)
