Raising an act of high bias-tape headed fidelity is Oslo, Norway's AACT RRAISER. A name with a familiar resemblance to the 1990 Super Nintendo game from Quintet Enix (now Square/Enix), the duo slaps on extra 'A' and 'R' on their moniker for good protective measures and for the sake of SEO searchability no doubt. What Adrian and Markus synergize here is the alternate soundtrack of what might have been on the FM radio at the time of this game's cartridge release, where keyboards leftover from the 80s fade through frequencies that touch on the 16-bit MIDI action of electro-adventure gaming. Our debut stream of AACT RRAISER's full-length, Holy Wind Delta Dance, presents the results of what the duo states as, “5 years 2 guys 1 computer 0 mercy”. From the inspiration of old game chips and electronic soundtracks; these 2 guys raise the curtain up on a new act where songs are scored for the 2-D platform scrolling levels of life.
“Morning Dynasty” moves in and out of consciousness, with the audio gain being switched in and out of audio focus. “Sky Parade” thrives in a vibrant ecosystem of digital bird loops that includes hushed ocean-like distortion until the keys take things forward melodically. More than a Moon Safari, “Moon Adventure” operates on the frequency modulation effect that takes you back to the days of gazing at the MTV spaceman logo on the tube, promising to make all your forgotten 90s after the fact wishes come true.
The production sparkles like the digital quartz diamonds on “Amethyst Dynasty”. The abrupt battle track of “Blue Master” plays outs like a martial arts showdown with a sparring mentor or nemesis as guitars scatter about the mix as gameboard keyboards and handclaps egg on the action. “Ghost Princess” takes things to another castle level, where the duo sends the synthesizers moving in waves with vocals floating and haunting from above the mix. “Leaf Party” sounds like a code for whatever it is that Mario and Luigi do with all those magic leaves, where “Northern Lights” present a bonus stage of chopped vocals and guitar samples that soar like pixelated clouds.
Orange Juice's epic of ethic, “Rip it Up“, gets weirded out on “Reverb Losers” to sound like a 90s Playstation game soundtracked by Tom Tom Club. Bringing things back to the holiday stages, “Canal Zone” is like a nostalgic raft ride tour down Norway's Telemark Canal. Winding things down, “Sweet Heart Sayounara” is the album's sentimental twist that takes you around the river bend to the summertime samples and warped sea-side guitar reverberations of “Please Come Home”. For the album (or game if you will) ending sequence, “Pyrmont (Happy End)” sends all the samples aflutter into the cool suburban skies of endless bliss with an appropriate and shimmering theme for any hero. For every day adventures developed from the aftermath of the 16-bit revolutions; Holy Wind Delta Dance lays out an audio world map RPG waiting to be explored and conquered.
AACT RRAISER's Holy Wind Delta Dance is available now from Manimal Vinyl.
