Xeno & Oaklander — Hypnos

Posted on by Matt Earley
<span class="preorder">Preorder</span>Hypnos” width=”400″ height=”400″/></figure><p>Eight new songs of sparkling electronics from duo Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride (Martial Canterel) blur the lines between 60’s French Pop, 80’s wave and contemporary modular synth pop. Romantic and mythic, a dreamlike journey through dense harmonies and complex polyphonic compositions… </p><p>As a musical act, Xeno & Oaklander conflate a rich love of analog synths, melody, and mythology with eloquent nuance and a nod to the heritage they draw from. While that construct is the duo’s immediate kiss and crush, there’s a deeper importance to their collaboration which began in 2004. As evidenced in their debut <em>Vigils</em> (2004), McBride and Wendelbo’s artistic dynamic is more than just a mutual love for electronics but a contrast between architectural precision and painterly expression. From the film scores to the traditional albums they’ve recorded in their Brooklyn studio, they’ve both spurred and fostered the global synth wave revival through a commitment to analog-only production and performance as well as a strident respect for the medium.</p><p>On their latest album <em>Hypnos</em> and first for the <a href=Dais imprint, the duo leveraged the talents of visual artist and live sound engineer Egan Frantz to mix the album. It’s a touch that adds both punch and balance, allowing their inherent conceptual voices to converge into a collage with defined edges and warm, synapses of frequency and beat.