By Keith Walsh
The 80s was a watershed decade for all things electronic, with both synthesizers and video games becoming mainstream aspects of the global cultural landscape. These two media are united in a fascinating concept album, titled Neon Ballet, by producer .PHNX (Connor Williams) and his friend and musical colleague Roberto Montoya.
Neon Ballet is situated in the synthwave genre, with pop and rock elements. The collaboration between .PHNX and Montoya started earlier this year, with the song “Polybius,” based on the legend of a sinister, government-sponsored research program of 1981 using a stand alone video game of the same name. Disproven as an urban legend, the story is nonetheless quite intriguing. Neon Ballet plays on all darkness of that myth, incorporating media soundbites about the allegedly addictive nature of video games and their supposed disruptive effect on youth culture, starting with their introduction in the 1970s.
The 10 track set features easter eggs like lyrics that include the email address of an early proponent of the Polybius myth, and an embedded cypher in the lyrics to “Inversion” that somehow gives bonus points to anyone who cracks the code.
“Lifelong Friends”
Though a young musician, the skills of PHNX and his outstanding studio wizardry can’t be denied. As Montoya told me: “He produced the music so he’d send me the initial demos and then I’d add vocals, synths, and/or guitars. I’d have input on mixing but he mixed and mastered the music. I’ve known him literally all his life and met him through his parents. His mother and my wife met at a playgroup. He and my daughter have been lifelong friends.”
You may have heard of Montoya before from his work with various projects. I asked him how he approached this synth rock sound of Neon Ballet differently than his rock band Icons of Industry.
“I consider myself a rock vocalist because that’s the genre I work in the most,” Montoya told me, “but I also have experience working with electronic music, mainly in my other project Betamax Dub Machine. I’ve collaborated with several other electronic and retrowave artists like Colby One, ZRZCZN, Gliwre, and LDV. Although the genres are different, I approach them the same from a melodic and textural perspective. I want the vocals to highlight and emphasize what’s going on instrumentally”
.PHNX told me that his go-to DAW is Fruity Loops Studio 20, and the VSTs he uses are many, including FB-3100, Surge XT, T-Force Alpha Plus, Vital, Plus, FLEX, Dexed, GMS, LABS, and Harmless. That’s quite an array of sound creation devices to choose from, and they serve the album well..
Polybius on Coinop.org
Icons Of Industry on Facebook
Betamax Dub Machine On Facebook
RHYS and .PHNX on Dutch Dance Records
.PHNX On Instagram
.PHNX On YouTube
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