Review: Saint Samuel's Machine Code for Beginners Will Make You Rethink Synthwave
Machine Code for Beginners by Saint-Samuel
When we here at NeonVice first heard the pre-mastered version of Saint Samuel’s new EP, we were immediately blown away. Something about the EP struck a chord with us and we were just drawn in by the refreshing new take on the genre that Machine Code for Beginners brings to the table. Now, we’re happy to announce that the EP is finally available to the public and the mixed down to tape, fully mastered versions of these tracks are even more incredible than we could have ever imagined. But enough of my fanboying, let’s get down to business.
Visual Basic
Once you give the EP a listen, you’ll catch on pretty quickly that Saint Samuel seems to be following a pretty simple formula in each track: there’s an epic buildup with slowly evolving pads accentuated by background synth elements and some occasional samples that all crescendos into a climax of rhythmic synth glory that ultimately morphs into a midtempo, ambient masterpiece. Now typically when a listener is able to easily pinpoint an artist’s formula for success, an EP can get pretty boring and monotonous fast, but that is definitely not the case with Machine Code for Beginners. Each successive tracks adds to the overall sonic environment that Saint Samuel has worked tirelessly to create. Visual Basic pulls the listener in with its impressive ambience generated by some eerily perfect pads and accentuated by a chuffy synth that sits in the background with a faint guitar that keeps the groove. The thing I love most about this track though is that it doesn’t overpower you with the presence of the lead synth. So frequently we see synthwave artists drowning out the ambience of their track with too many elements, but Saint Samuel manages to avoid that here. Each element has a purpose and is never taken for granted within the mix.
Syntax Error
This track follows the same basic formula but contributes a bit more grunge and a pretty distinct almost garage-type feel. The repetitive baseline keeps the listener hooked while Saint Samuel’s masterful pads evolve the tone of the track. The first two minutes build this eery, almost horrorsynth vibe that gets completely wiped away at around the two minute mark by an irregular drum pattern that mutates into the traditional four on the floor kick-snare pattern that we’ve all come to know and love. I can’t decide if this track is horrorsynth, traditional synthwave, dreamwave, or what. It alternates back and forth between something I could imagine in a John Carpenter film and something I could picture in a John Hughes movie. This was probably my favorite track on the EP so I don’t want to spoil it too much. Give it a listen for yourself; trust me, you’ll want to replay it at least three times.
1983’s Edition
Guess how this track starts…yep…slowly building pads again but hey I’m not complaining. Like I said before, each track follows a formula but the way Saint Samuel has given each track it’s own clear and distinct voice keeps the EP fresh and doesn’t bore the listener; on the contrary, I’m not sure I’ve been this immersed in an EP in quite a long while. Something about this track in particular made me feel like I was in a Rocky movie and I was training for my final big fight…it probably has something to do with the uplifting synth that comes in around the one minute mark and grows and grows until it’s at the forefront of the mix. If any track on the album could be considered “typical” synthwave, this one would probably be it, but although it follows a lot of the cliched musical aspects of the genre that we all love, it does so in a way that feels entirely new. The sixteenth note bass pattern, the four on the floor kick-snare, the lead synth, the bells…everything screams synthwave but for some reason all I can hear is Saint Samuel’s unique genre-bending, limit pushing masterwork.
Machine Code for Beginners
Like I’ve said previously, this EP leads me to believe that Saint Samuel had a goal of creating a complete sonic space where the listener could be immersed by not only one track but by an EP whose tracks work together to form a complex whole. The titular track of the EP (and coincidentally the final track) brings this complex whole to a close in a way that leaves the listener itching for more. Definitely give this track a listen through some nice speakers or some quality headphones…there’s some really subtle little aspects of the mix that you don’t want to miss (I mean come on…this guy managed to integrate a triangle into the mix seamlessly and it actually serves a purpose in the overall tone of the song…I could almost cry it’s so perfect). This track to me is the culmination of everything Saint Samuel had been building in the previous tracks. Whereas the other tracks each had a distinct sound that changed completely from the previous track (while somehow miraculously maintaining a cohesive feel to the EP), this track seems to have aspects of each of the other tracks mashed together to form a Frankenstein-like masterpiece. There’s some definite horrorsynth influence, some dreamwave influence, some typical cheesy synthwave influence, and it all comes together in one final bang that concludes the EP in a way that gives it a definite end but makes the listener excited for what’s to come.
Final Thoughts
I’m going to come right out and say it: this EP is (in my honest opinion) the best synthwave release of 2015, hands down. If you buy one album or EP this year, make it Saint Samuel’s Machine Code for Beginners. You won’t be sorry.