Syndromeda (aka Danny Budts) is a longtime electronic music veteran, producing a steady stream of releases embodied by a level of powerful intensity not usually found in contemporary EM.
SYNDROMEDA & VON HAULSHOVEN: The Second Intelligent Lifeform (DDL on SynGate)
This 2010 release features 70 minutes of long-form electronic music.
Syndromeda is Danny Budts. Von Haulshoven is Eppie E. Hulshof.
This release offers three extra-long tracks...
The first piece begins with a duality of sprightly sequencing. After a period of expressing itself, the lead flow steps back to allow the other to enjoy the spotlight, relegating the original thread to a secondary role, one that supports and enhances the new mainline's evolution through variations, toying with simple melodies and imbuing complexity on them over time. Auxiliary electronics swim in and out of play, while the central themes unfold their majestic diversions. The interaction and exchangeability of the keyboard threads becomes quite intriguing over time, building tension in a sneaky fashion, until the listener suddenly finds themselves immersed in a sea of intensity that can be dizzying.
Emerging from a fog of twinkling effects, the second song pursues a gentler sentiment as dreamy chords undulate in the background, while relaxed riffs wind their way through a realm of sparkling tonal punctuations. With the appearance of more strident electronics, things enter a stretch of ascension in which the pulsations exude airy properties amid buzzing chords that gradually churn into a dominant stance. Some touches of guitar contribute to this phase, seasoning the flow with molten notes that boost the melody's elevation. The threads become more atmospheric, gaseous but still retaining a degree of mounting oomph.
The last track offers mellow tones punctuated by blooping effects that soon accompany a languid keyboard thread as things lead to a passage of luxurious pulsations. The pace dallies, exploring melodic variations with interweaving riffs. As the soft twang of meticulously chorded guitar enters the mix, so do ponderous beats of muffled subtlety. For a while, the flow adopts an almost ominous temperament with slowly churning electronics that generate an anticipatory moodÑone that is inevitably rewarded when spry chords slide into play, coaxing the music into an alluring velocity. The keyboards become more nimble-fingered. The guitar erupts with searing chords. The tuneage settles into a passive wind-down with a finale of gently strummed guitar strings.
A thoroughly satisfying excursion of spacey electronic music.
SYNDROMEDA: The Rise of Darkness (DDL on SynGate)
This 2011 release features 69 minutes of inspired electronic music.
Syndromeda is Danny Budts. Accompanying him on one track is Papajeahja (aka Sandy Kuhn) providing haunting vocal effects.
Snappy electronics in abundance generate lavish tuneage of an appealing nature.
The electronics are versatile, ranging from shrill tonalities to chirpy notes to flowing keyboard sweeps to more articulated keyboard riffs.
Keyboards trigger most of the electronics here, creating fluid sequences that flavor spry animation with dreamy sentiments. The result is energized melodies that exhibit undercurrents of mesmerization.
Melodic threads are established as a foundational nucleus. This central theme is then accompanied by additional riffs that interact with the groundwork, inducing variations that are fluid and enticing. Often the individual layers will surge into prominence, displaying a carefree verve that tends to influence the rest of the music, guiding the listener into more pleasant attitudes.
The particular sounds crafted as voices for these synthesizers display a crafty creativity, flourishing in their unique character and resonance.
While almost no actual percussion is employed here, rhythms are widely prevalent in the form of the cyclic application of non-impact sounds, so that pulsing notes often provide the music with locomotion. One of the tracks that does employ percussion, however, applies the beats to evoke a dark tension.
One of the key traits in these compositions is their integral fusion of bouncy energy with dreamy moods, transforming looping cycles into a sense of drifting seasoned with hints of pep. A sense of optimism is found in these tunes.
SYNDROMEDA: Time Will Never Be the Same (DDL on SynGate)
This 2012 release features 75 minutes of cosmic electronic music.
Syndromeda is Danny Budts. Accompanying him on one track is Papajeahja (aka Sandy Kuhn) providing haunting vocal effects.
Supple electronics and bouncy rhythms generate entrancing tuneage.
The electronics span a wide variety, from guttural notes to lighthearted whimsies to dramatic tones to surging pulsations. This lush sonic palette granted the tunes nimble personalities.
Ample use is made of interweaving distinct threads to formulate fresh melodies, and the musical diversity that occurs when each thread undergoes its own variation.
Rhythms are vital to these songs, and Budts employs percussion that is quasi-traditional at times, while on other occasions the beats consist of cyclic sounds of synthetic origin. In one piece, heavy rhythms create a passage vivid with dark doings that's enhanced by a ghostly primordial chant. In fact, the album's last track also features spectral chants of a primitive nature in tandem with tribal tempos.
Certain tracks establish a spooky mood before peppering the flow with an energized sequencing, but once the pulsations start rolling, things escalate into vistas of throbbing urgency. Ah, but that urgency retains dire traces, maintaining an eerie edge for those tunes.
These compositions intermingle peppy riffs with a sense of dark awe, resulting in music that drips mysterious qualities with its cavorting chords. A distinctly cosmic flavor permeates these songs. Most of them average around ten minutes long, affording them the opportunity to evolve into striking sonic lifeforms.
SYNDROMEDA: No More Frontiers (DDL on SynGate)
This 2013 release features 64 minutes of dark electronic music.
Syndromeda is Danny Budts.
A darkness permeates much of the electronics on this recording, tempering their resonance to convey tense emotionsÑbut not teeth-clenching tense. A basic level of apprehensive anticipation is sustained and maintained for long passages, as in the album's first track, which lasts for 17 minutes.
A certain degree of non-dark pulsations are present, balancing the sonic scale. Often, these airier electronics serve to command the songs' central melodies, making them beacons of optimism blazing through murky fogs.
As with other releases, most of the electronics are triggered by keyboards, generating lush threads of tremulous riffs. Their interaction results in vividly haunted melodies. There are, however, occasions that comprise texturals colliding in slow motion, achieving even more dramatic moments as hyperactive keys surge into the mix.
Some percussives are utilized, but their beats provide little propulsion to the music, serving instead to enhance the flow's fundamental enigmatic nature.
While these compositions rely on somewhat dark tonalities, their temperament is far from ominous. The tuneage explores realms of nervous energy tinged with itchy expectations. This anticipatory demeanor is the music's richest influence, leaving the listener acutely attuned to potentialities.
Dark, but delightful.
SYNDROMEDA & PERCEPTUAL DEFENCE: Fear of the Emptiness Space (DDL on SynGate)
This 2014 release features 66 minutes of cosmic electronic music.
Syndromeda is Danny Budts. Perceptual Defence is Gabriele Quirici.
Two extra-long tracks comprise this release...
Blooping diodes punctuate the first piece's sedate opening. The tonalities muster strength and structure, exiting the capsule and entering a zone of glorious scope. Eventually, movement occurs, as the spacewalking listener finds themselves dangling at the edge of the stratosphere, looking down upon a sparkling keyboard sequence that approximates the grand view. But there are alien sounds churning at the flow's periphery, slowly edging their way into prominence. Crisper keys slide into play, initiating a passage of sprightly chords. But ultimately, more alien pulsations appear and float amid a rising tide of heavenly tones. Cohesive keys introduce a mounting riff that muscles aside the weirdness, relegating the strange sounds to the distance. In the end, the cosmic background swells and swallows everything.
The second track offers a fresh selection of extraterrestrial sounds, each firing off, then twinkling away in favor of the next alien chitter. A deep pulsation rises to swamp the stage, conquering the flow with its thrumming presence. Melodic threads grow out of incidental effects, the bloops joining forces with a throbbing sequence to create a passage rich with dire portents. A celestial demeanor prevails, flourishing with cascading textures littered with beeping satellites. Auxiliary sounds of an eerie character enter the harmonic flow. Shimmering keys rise into play, generating a pleasant melody for the finale.
Some tasty long-form compositions that explore pensive harmonic tapestries embroidered with engaging melodic sequences.
SYNDROMEDA: Connected! (DDL on SynGate)
This 2014 release features 69 minutes of intense electronic music.
Syndromeda is Danny Budts.
Budts likes to take his time establishing a sinuous structure of pulsating riffs, only to relegate those threads into the background and embellish things with even more riffs. Gradually, the undercurrent riffs blend together into an attractive flow that, in turn, is further enhanced by the new riffs as they unfurl, entwine and evolve. At times, the gestalt can be dense and intense, but the resulting mood is generally a mesmerized euphoria.
This interaction of individual threads actually elevates the melodic tuneage into a harmonic state of consciousness.
The actual resonant character of these synthetic sounds is quite varied. Shrill, almost piercing notes will coexist with deeply bass tones while sparkling keys delineate mounting cycles.
Little percussion is used in this music. What rhythms do appear are generated by the rapid application of non-impact sounds that, when looped, create crackling tempos.
Moaning chants are featured in a few tracks, lending the dire flow a ceremonial quality.
These compositions explore realms of mystery (often of an astrophysical nature) by harnessing "spacey" sounds into sultry melodies. These tunes incite a sense of awe in the listener, one that is delightfully entertaining. At times, a certain darkness emanates from this music, but any ominous disposition is soon transmuted into a mood of dramatic tension (for anomalies like black holes are dangerous, but without rancor).
SYNDROMEDA & PAPAJEAHJA: Sparkle (DDL Single on SynGate)
This 2014 track features 7 minutes of haunting music.
Syndromeda is Danny Budts (on various electronics). Papajeahja is Sandy Kuhn (contributing ethereal vocals).
The song begins with a meshing of sweeping tones and haunting vocal effects, each element interweaving to achieve a luscious gestalt. Languid drums lend a ceremonial flair to the tune. Gradually, the electronic pulsations swell with puissance, a sense of command mirrored by the vocals as the flow reaches a trancey intensity. The non-verbal crooning musters strength as if summoning spirits to join in the modern danse macabre.
A pretty impressive piece.
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