Kalax: Take Me Back
Kalax has dropped another epic single and rearranged a date with legendary producer College. Getintothis’ Patrick Clarke has all the info for the gig, as well as the verdict on the new track.
Synth-popper Kalax has released a new song Take Me Back featuring World Wild ahead of an upcoming date at LEAF in support of College, the Frenchman behind the acclaimed soundtrack for 2011 film Drive.
The gig was originally slated to take place last October, but the headliner was forced to cancel due to issues with connecting flights. The rearranged night this October 10 has been a long time coming, and promises to be a huge occasion for any and all synth fans.
As for the new track Take Me Back, its affirmation enough that Kalax is at the top of his game ahead of the support slot. A wide, glossy affair that lives up to the producer’s previous ream of retro-futurist epics, the song wears its 80s influence on its sleeve, yet feels laden with progressive purpose.
Opening with urgent, pounding synths it launches immediately into the crack of a hammering beat and the sound of Aussie-based vocalist World Wild. From there the track becomes a singular force of unstoppable momentum, while a sly crescendo of building textures gradually swarms the listener in harmonious intensity.
The addition of vocals to the producer’s primarily instrumental style results in a poppier edge, though not to any detriment – the eccentric edge is still very much apparent, though given a distinctly accessible energy.
Apparently devising a screenplay for each musical release, the vocals serve to accentuate the 80s sci-fi aesthetic reflected in the neon synths. “Take me back to 1984/I can’t stand the future any more” comes the refrain, perhaps the most explicit distillation of a unique and beguiling aesthetic.
Beneath all those marvellous atmospherics however is a core of serious synth-proficiency, both cunningly simple and completely adept. When dressed in Kalax’s marvellous atmospherics and World Wild’s unswerving vocals, Take Me Back is yet another grand addition to a splendid discography.
