Some of my Soundcloud Favourites #111

The Pillars of Creation are majestic columns of gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula, where new stars are born, and old ones die.
Stretching roughly 4 to 5 light-years, the Pillars of Creation are a fascinating but relatively small feature of the entire Eagle Nebula, which spans 70 by 55 light-years. 
Electronic track of a journey through the pillars with some allian chatter. This is a one take improvisation using 3 Apple computers running Arturia v with Logic Pro x.. So its in the vane of Tangerine Dream Start up the synths live and go. Experiment to see how stable software only synths would work live. Preparation of preset sounds is of course required so in Arturia V you can create your own preset and join several parts together in one sound. Arps and sequencing is live and a bit random.

Pillars Of Creation

https://youtu.be/7fxlWPYCK3Y?si=WyhgQ5OO0x37AyfM

Two Hundred

℗ © Copyright Ian Stokes. All Rights Reserved
Recorded, mixed and mastered in Logic. 
Guitar played: Taylor 714CE in standard tuning (Capo 2nd Fret)
Photography: Thanks go to Nigel and Libby Hume at Hume Photography.
Lyrics:
Maybe one day I’ll go sailing
Out on the big blue sea
Where the fishes swim around, going up and down 
Like a fish …….was meant to be

What a lovely way to spend the day 
Just being out there afloat 
And oh what joy to shout ahoy
From the deck of a sailing boat 

Sailing along in the sunshine
Just me and the ocean breeze
Then across the bay I’d make my way
Back home in time for tea

Steady as you go
Steady as you go   

Maybe one day I’ll go sailing 
Out on the big blue sea 
Along the coast I could make the most
Of the nautical scenery

What a lovely way to spend a day 
Just being out there afloat 
See a smugglers cove or a treasure trove
From the deck of a sailing boat 

Sailing along in the sunshine
Just me and the ocean breeze
Then across the bay I’d make my way
Back home in time for tea

Steady as you go
Steady as you go

Steady As You Go

Kruunu

Synesthesia is main motif for this song, first because of original lyrics, then as I felt like adding it more flavor with female vocals*, & finally when I recently watched some paintings about this matter**.

*Great vocal performance by https://soundcloud.com/maraoldfield is most notorious matter in this piece, where riffing parts toggle with bass-guided proggy ones.

**Due credits to https://soundcloud.com/wouwouandthewormling for ad hoc painting of the song’s artwork.

Letra  /  Lyrics:

QUIERO SABER SI HACE CALOR  /  I WANT TO KNOW IF IT IS HOT

En verano, insoportable,  /  In summer, unbearable,
todo está lleno de ruido.  /  everything is full of noise.
El invierno, silencioso,  /  The winter, silent,
que congela los sonidos.  /  which freezes the sounds.

No quisiera quedarme sorda  /  I don’t want to get deaf
sin saber cuándo hace frío.  /  not  knowing when it’s cold. 
No quisiera quedarme sorda  /  I don’t want to get deaf
para saber si hace frío.  /  so as to know if it’s cold.

Los días soleados  /  Sunny days
acompañan al estío  /  go along with the summer
y cuando llega el invierno  /  and when the winter comes
el cielo está oscurecido.  /  the sky is darkened.

No quisiera quedarme ciega  /  I don’t want to get blind
sin saber cuándo hace frío.  /  not  knowing when it’s cold.
No quisiera quedarme ciega  /  I don’t want to get blind
para saber si hace frío.  /  so as to know if it’s cold.

ER24CH04 ©1995 ®2015

Quiero saber si hace calor (Vocals by Mara​Oldfield)

🎧 The New Of The Tower
Welcome to a new, underground, dark world...

🎭 Musical Style & Artistic Evolution

🚀 Avant-Garde Dance Music Without Borders
The New Of The Tower is an independent, self-taught project that fearlessly pushes the limits of dance music with a unique fusion of genres. Officially described as a mix of dark techno, tech-house, electro, and experimental pop, it also incorporates elements of trap, punk, and even classical music.

In practice, each track oscillates between club anthems and conceptual sonic experiences. For instance, “Velvet Guillotine” (2025) is a hypnotic techno hymn built on heavy percussion and distorted vocals—a true “surreal sonic ritual” under neon lights.

The sound is always matched by a cinematic, underground aesthetic: strobe lights, cyberpunk visuals, and immersive atmospheres define every release.

🌍 Eclectic Influences & Genre Alchemy

The New Of The Tower draws from a wide range of sonic traditions:

🏴‍☠️ Dark techno and industrial groove infused with gothic textures and anarchic punk (e.g., “BRUTAL!!” — a chaotic journey of distortion and rebellion).

🌍 Afro-Tech House meets rock guitars à la AC/DC in “Love Letters” (124–126 BPM).

👺 “Masquerade of Bass” blends melodic techno, dark psytrance, and retro synth-pop.

💃 Spanish-language tracks like “Marionetas” and “Vidas Rotas” fuse flamenco sorrow with trap beats and deep 808s.

🎷 “2:59 AM” evokes Amy Winehouse-inspired jazzy cloud-rap, while “She Danced Through Storms” travels through deep house and jazz fusion with a cinematic touch.

🧊 “Still Echoing” merges melodic trance with nostalgic 80s synth-pop.

🧬 Each track is a bold cross-genre experiment: from industrial club bangers to dark electronic ballads, always rich in texture and emotion.

🎛️ Sonic Palette: Instruments & Effects

🎹 Synths & Melodies
Analog pads & leads (often vocoder-enhanced) create retrofuturistic atmospheres.
Punk-style distorted guitars and 80s synthwave textures bring cinematic depth.

🥁 Percussion & Rhythms
Hard techno kicks, metallic hi-hats, tribal drums, and trap-style 808s.
Layered acoustic and electronic elements make for dynamic and precise beats.

🌀 FX & Processing
Rich in glitchy clips, VHS noise, deep delays, and reverb-soaked vocals.

Examples: “Love Letters” is drenched in lo-fi and VHS textures; “4 Malos Polvos” features glitchy ambient layers and emotional auto-tune.

🎨 Each sound is carefully crafted to contribute to a vivid, cinematic soundscape.

🎤 Vocal Treatments: A Sonic Chameleon

Vocals range from:
🎙️ Melodic singing (English & Spanish)
🔥 Punk shouting & spoken rap
🤖 Vocoded retro textures (“Still Echoing”)
💔 Melancholic auto-tuned lines (“4 Malos Polvos”)
💣 Confessional, emotionally intense deliveries
🗣️ The voice becomes another instrument of emotion, soaked in effects like reverb, delay, filters—ranging from ghostly whispers to ecstatic screams.

🌑 Emotional Climate & Storytelling

The overall emotional tone is dark, introspective, and visceral.

Themes revolve around:
💘 Passion, heartbreak, rebellion
🧠 Subconscious states & urban alienation
🕯️ Ritualistic, trance-like experiences (e.g., “Velvet Guillotine”)
🌆 Social suffering (“Marionetas”, “Vidas Rotas”)
😈 Raw eroticism & shame (“4 Malos Polvos”: “each drop is a stab disguised as a caress”)
🎞️ Romantic melancholy in cinematic settings (“2:59 AM”, “She Danced Through Storms”)
🎬 Each track unfolds like an emotional chapter, offering catharsis, vulnerability, and mystery.

📽️ Conceptual Artistry & Vision

The New Of The Tower is not just music—it's an immersive audiovisual concept.

💀 Explores themes of dystopia, poverty, guilt, rebellion
🏙️ Brutalist club visuals, cyberpunk aesthetics
🕯️ Emotional depth with non-commercial intent
🎭 “4 Malos Polvos” = a “dark confession for love sinners,” cinematic and raw
🌀 Each release = a journey through shadow and rhythm
🕺💀 Dance meets darkness—a kind of electronic film noir where each beat tells a deeper truth.

📈 Style Evolution: From EDM to Darkness

🟢 2019–2022: EDM & electro-pop beginnings (Feel EP, “You And Me” — catchy and bright)

🟡 2024: Transition into melodic techno (“Not Living Without You”)

🔴 2025–Present: Shift to dark techno, darkwave, flamenco-trap, and experimental storytelling (“Velvet Guillotine”, “Marionetas”)

🎭 From mainstream dance-pop to raw, conceptual electronic music—always evolving, always fearless.

🎼 Comparable Artists & Influences

🧩 The New Of The Tower resonates with:

🧨 Brutalismus 3000 (techno-punk dystopia)
👾 Perturbator (dark synthwave)
🌘 Mind Against / Recondite (melodic techno & melancholia)
🎤 Boy Harsher, Massive Attack (dark vocals, trip-hop moods)
🔥 Anyma (techno emotion), Latin trap/fusion for its flamenco-trap leanings
🌌 But ultimately, it defines its own world—one built from dark techno, darkwave, nu-jazz, and trap-rock fusion.

🔍 Sources
All analysis is based on official content from:
📻 SoundCloud & YouTube, where each track’s genre, BPM, and atmosphere are detailed, along with the project’s self-described tags and narratives.

📎 Verified by direct observation of mixes like:

“Velvet Guillotine”

“Marionetas”

“4 Malos Polvos”

“Still Echoing”

“Love Letters”

“2:59 AM”

and more.

🎧 The New Of The Tower: Not just a sound, but a dark, immersive, and emotional experience.
Let the beats confess what words cannot.

Two Hundred

The New Of The Tower - Official