"Light up the night like it's 1999 / When we were so unsure of everything to be / Fallin' right through all the lines we used to use / What to do, I don't know, I don't know..."
No matter what year it is, there is something incredibly alluring, magnetic about art that feels as if it comes from past times. Like a vintage car or classic art that contains a lineage of history, even new art with old school or other worldly sounds transports you. I thought of this while enjoying "1999" by Dreams on Tape, the experimental indie project of Tampa, Florida based singer-songwriter, producer Jake Benfant. A lot of the allure here are the sonics bathed in a thick layered haze of electronica. While the song title references "1999" my thoughts went directly to the 80's, not 1980 but maybe 1780. The proto punkian machine sounds might feel late 1970's but the synth orchestrations feel more akin to Mozart, if he were an Austrian proto-punker in 1978 steeping himself in Bauhaus and Kraftwerk.
Benfant who records and produces in his apartment and began Dreams on Tape in 2020 is able to render a sound that feels heavy as in if the synths themselves are clunky heavy and that makes all the difference. The sound feels honed from Mellotrons and Model D Minimoog's instead of modern keyboards run through sampling software. Similarly, the vocal aesthetic feels washed through electronica but in a good way, an artful way.
As Benfant sings;
Room with a view of a gloomy afternoon,
Wanting more, so much more of everything to be,
Tryin to find all the right words in my mind,
What to say, I don't know, I don't know
Wanting more, so much more of everything to be,
Tryin to find all the right words in my mind,
What to say, I don't know, I don't know
...against dark melancholia, the sounds feel circular building a spiraling sound that somehow lifts you up into space. Listen on repeat and you might get lost but don't worry because you will surely find yourself in a different head space and feeling inspired.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AFGPuSQHul71WUKnoUUhy
https://soundcloud.com/dreamsontapemusic
https://www.instagram.com/dreamsontapemusic/
https://dreamsontapemusic.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.facebook.com/dreamsontape/
Dreams on Tape is an experimental indie project based in Tampa, FL formed in 2020. The band is the moniker of Jake Benfant, who writes and records everything in his apartment. The project has influences including: coming of age films, music documentaries, vintage photographs, modern bedroom and dream pop artists, and psychedelia. The result is a fresh sound with nostalgic roots.
Dreams on Tape, singer-songwriter, musician, DIY producer, Tampa Florida, alt rock, experimental indie, art pop, avant pop, dream pop, Jake Benfant, "1999",
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