Review: Synaptic Voyager - High Rise EP (Cyphon Recordings)

Moving from the ground floor of 'Dawn Till Dusk' to 'High Rise', this new EP by  Synaptic Voyager takes you higher all day long as the latest release on Cyphon Recordings.

It's been nearly a year since Cyphon dropped Synaptic Voyager's 'Dawn Till Dusk' EP (see review HERE), where electro, techno and deep house plus some "abstract electronica and Detroit-inspired futurism" is alive and well with this five track EP.

You'll recall Cyphon's first ever release was Yuu Udagawa's 'Forever EP' (and check her recent 'Urban Physicallity' EP - see review HERE) and since then we've had Kirk Degiogio's 'Elate' (see review HERE), Infinity Plus One's 'Reflexion' (see review HERE), label boss Jimper's Loxodrome releases and most recently, Berwick's 'Powerflip' (see review HERE).

So 'High Rise' is a return to future acid (Ed. or is that phuture acid?) of a "machine-built metropolis" which is kind of ironic as, in so many ways especially as in Motherwell they recently completed The demolition of the last 3 high rise tower blocks that ended a 25-year plan to knock down all 48 high-rise blocks across the local authority area!  Which sort of sets up the next track, 'Airbourne Avenues' which is icey as the walkways in the sky; was that the Sheffield Estate that had milk floats on the balcony walkways?

And whilst this conjures up images of old videos with Public Information/Town Planning narratives, 'Nubula' flips it to a even higher form of cinematic expression as the dark night time cityscape is based on high speed car chase dancefloor acid rave. 

The duo that is Synaptic Voyager met 30 odd years ago at a time of the Sheffield electronic dance/pop/sythns explosion.  Now Matt White and Paul Baines are taking intelligent synth dance (ISD) early Kraftwerk-in-Peech Boy NYC inspirations like 'Deep Impact' as 909 drums, analogue synths hit a trans-europe HST with alarm bells (or is that buffet car alarms?)

The EP ends with 'Robot Interlude' which is Isaac Asimov in Detroit which is the best of the set on whatever level they are aiming at - expectations for this release were high and they risen to the occasion.

 

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: High Rise EP by Synaptic Voyager

Artist: Synaptic Voyager
Title: High Rise EP 
Release date: 30th January, 2025
Label: Cyphon Recordings
Catalog Number: TBC 
Format: Limited heavyweight vinyl / Digital / Bandcamp