LA-based synth-pop maestros Dream System 8 are back with a gorgeous and meaningful new single, “I’m Sure of This Ending For Us.” It premieres here today and gets a wide release on Friday. This is the latest song from the duo featuring Stranger Things music editor David Klotz, who performed that fantastic cover of The NeverEnding Story theme for the show last year.
Dream System 8 deftly crafts modern synth-pop laden with moods and colors that recall the likes of The Human League, Vince Clarke, OMD, Duran Duran, and Giorgio Moroder without copying them. Elektra’s vocals are particularly engaging.
The Story of “I’m Sure of This Ending for Us”
This new single, “I’m Sure of This Ending for Us,” has a noteworthy provenance.
“I remember the first time I heard the song,” Elektra said in a press release. “Dave made a version with live drums and lots of guitar — a very different production than our usual material. I absolutely loved the simple structure and thought it had the most beautiful melody, so I kept telling him, ‘We need to make a Dream System 8 version of this song!’ I feel like it took some convincing. He didn’t seem to understand how beautiful it was.”
Elektra managed to convince Klotz, adding some of her own lyrics to modify the melody for this break-up song.
“I already had quite the catalog of break-up songs in my repertoire,” Klotz said in the same press release, “but, alas, here we go again! At the time I felt like, ‘Well, this is just what I’m meant to write about, I suppose,’ and because I’d touched on the subject of heartbreak before, I thought I should attempt something a little more transcendental.”
The title of the song derives from a painful exchange Klotz had with a former girlfriend.
“The title was actually something said to me by my girlfriend when our relationship was ending, and even though it was painful, I recognized that it was a beautifully simple way to convey the sentiment,” Klotz said, noting the song has a therapeutic quality to it for him.
“I’ve never found songwriting to work like that for me before,” Klotz said. “But, here I was, hoping this would make me feel better.”
“I’m Sure of This Ending for Us” releases digitally on Friday via Minty Fresh.
Previous singles include “I Like The Way That You Hold Me,” released in October of the last year.
(Feature photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman. From left: David Klotz and Erica Elektra.)