rx1f

The obsession with space in rock music and pop culture emerged out of the moon-shot era of the '60s. Fanciful musings on the great unknown skyrocketed and a generation became enamoured with the possibilities of life on other worlds. Bowie to Kubrick, Jimi Hendrix to the Jetsons, the world was reeling over putting a man on the moon. Now a half-century later, our computers have advanced exponentially and we've put a halo of satellites around our blue orb and yet life on the moon seems barely closer than it was on July 21st, 1969. Only recently have billionaires made the upper atmosphere their playground and there is a manned mission to the moon once again on the horizon. That being said, it is still left to the artists to dream of an off-world life in place of true lived experience.

The latest record from electronic sonic artist rx1f is an exploration of a life lived beyond earth. If Arctic Monkeys' Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino was the score to a musical based on a lunar resort, rx1f's latest record r8c180 is the music playing in its neon-lit ultralounge. The artist's self-proclaimed “music for robots” merges a plethora of synth textures with samples from a variety of space-related sources, many from NASA's archives. The vocals are airy and drawn out like fellow synth rock voyager Kevin Parker. The result is an enticingly adventurous mix of soundscapes bathed in the warm glow of r&b-infused cyber-pop.

Obtuse rocket launch recordings fade in and out as 'accidents' opens the record with a swirling dust-up of verbbed-out vocal textures and rubber-ball-punchy synth kick and bass. An uplifting major key hook sparkles on 80s keyboard. Rx1f coos a futurelove tale with parallels to M83 or Austin newcomer 1st Base Runner. A refrain of “hello, hello, hello” echoes around the soundfield as rx1f uses the isolation of space to reinforce the song's lyrical themes.

'astronauts' hits all those shiny early 2010s vibes with a hopelessly catchy hook and chorus. 'spheres' introduces a darker element in the form of a glider-chase pumping beat, guttural bass synths, and gusting wind arpeggiators. An album standout, the track manages to thread the needle between bombastic psytrance and inviting synthpop. Elements of Martin Gore-sung Depeche Mode deep cuts peak through on tracks like 'darker than night' and 'mannekin dream'. The album's closer 'high wire' conveys that uncanny blend of childlike innocence and elder wisdom that comes from observing the world and your life from a place of removed perspective. Like glancing back at our “pale blue dot”, the song evokes deep truths and a reconnection to our basic essence.

r8c180 is an album that not only dreams of the future but puts itself there and glances back. The textures range from the simplicity of the early synthpop of the '80s, through to the expansive soundscapes of the last decade and beyond. rx1f uses these elements expertly to craft an affecting portrait of longing for connection amid our life of isolation. It feels like drifting away from your space capsule into the dark infinite, then getting tugged back by the station's tether to a rescuing human soul.