Listen to an ingenious track we recently came across.
Do you ever feel a bit of nostalgia while remembering the days gone by, and those years in which every track was so well-produced they all became timeless classics? Well, let me tell you there’s a band, this very year, bringing that futuristic vintage sound back to the spotlight. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Of Love And Lust.
Of Love And Lust (OLAL)
This is no ordinary group. OLAL is an Alternative Rock / Electronica hybrid-focused band, with a truly special sound, reminiscing of the 80s, yet at the same time staying up to date with the latest technologies and modern, surgical mixing of the current times.
The band’s members are currently based all over the world: Rush (vocals) in Berlin, Kuzman (guitars, keyboards) in Macedonia, Gareth Jones (keyboards, production) in London, Christie McCarthy (vocals) in California, Alex Baum (drums, keyboards) in North Carolina, and Skunk (keyboards, songwriter) in Arizona.
Contributing to a mature and polished sound that reminds us of Pet Shop Boys and Sad Lovers And Giants, OLAL was born from a clash of experts at work. Look, for example, no further than their mixing engineer Gareth Jones. He was among the first producers to mix analogue synths, sampling, and Dance beats. Among the first in History, actually. He’s been offering his skills and trailblazing the modern Dance music path since the 1980s, while working for iconic bands such as Depeche Mode and Erasure (!).
The first track released by Of Love And Lust this year is called ‘Insane Desire’. You’ll get hints of everything we’ve talked about so far while listening to it.
‘Insane Desire’
A warm year debut for the band, ‘Insane Desire’ blends a number of synths, both analogue and digital, guitars, vocals, and cutting-edge production techniques. Samples used throughout the track were recorded using the Barnaby 3D Audio microphone, created by OLAL’s very own Skunk.
“’Insane Desire’ is a tapestry of sound woven around samples I first created on a vintage Ensoniq sampler”, he says, regarding the birth of the track.
“Rush’s passionate vocal delivery sharply contrasts with Christie’s angelic vocal responses. Kuzman and Alex created the drive that keeps the song moving, with Gareth adding a bit of his own Moog synth work as he created the final mix.”
-Skunk, of OLAL.
Dark and mysterious, ‘Insane Desire’ presents a very interesting composition, one that, unlike 99% of the Dance records currently being released, does not abuse the tension and release resource. A resource, you could say, which has worked its way to being an absolute must in the genre. These guys managed to dial it back, keeping the tone of the track sober and calm, showcasing quite the elegant style. And, needless to say, the retro vibe adds a whole dimension of ear candy to keep this track on loop for a long while.
Final Words
Listen to Of Love And Lust’s ‘Insane Desire’ by clicking the Spotify button we’ve provided below. Also, be sure to follow the band on their socials. And stay tuned to our page for the latest news and reviews from our beloved EDM industry.
*Cover art painting by Rachel Alexander.