MODERNS ARE QUICKLY BECOMING THE ONES TO WATCH – NRW EXCLUSIVE!

You may have heard Tripped or Over Again—two really rad tracks by
MODERNS featured here on NRW’s enormous YouTube channel. I’m looking to hear
more voices from artists in this scene, providing more definition and clarity
as synthwave discovers itself and what it’s capable of as it goes along.

I got a chance to talk a bit with Alan Oakes and Christopher Fudurich, the duo
that is, MODERNS…

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Thanks for doing this Q+A! As a lover of the synthwave community, I believe
hearing from artists is a huge part of shaping the genre and scene as it
matures.

ALAN: Thank you for the opportunity

CHRISTOPHER: You’re welcome. Hello!

Why MODERNS? Any background to the name?

ALAN: The MODERNS name goes with
the “Future Modernism” idea which was a recurring theme during the
80’s in synth music and the cyberpunk world. The music is heavily influenced by
those genres, so it seemed fitting.

CHRISTOPHER: Yes, which works out nice since I equate the
music with that of a clean, linear mid-century architecture style. I like architecture.

How do you guys view or position yourselves in the synth scene? Or
do you consider yourself electro-pop?

ALAN: The music is primarily
synth-based while the songs do have some pop structures. We could generalize
MODERNS as a Synthwave, Synthpop, or an Electro act, but I like the idea of
keeping the lines blurred. It keeps things interesting.

CHRISTOPHER: Blurred Lines? I’m happy with making music and sounds and
hopefully whoever likes it, likes it regardless of scene or whatever labels it
gets stuck with. Honestly, I like so
many different types of music from all over the place, I think our music is just
going to kinda go with whatever we are feeling or inspired by at the time.

Knowing you both have background with bands and music, why such a
strong draw to synthwave?

Are you both pulled to that nostalgic 80’s/90’s zone that many of
us millennial RetroWave fans are?

ALAN: It’s partly nostalgic, I must
admit. The music and bands from that era are the reason I wanted to become a
musician in the first place. But I must say I’m also inspired by today’s
Synthwave artists. Some of the more progressive artists are doing really
exciting things with their music.

CHRISTOPHER: Totally nostalgic. And synthesizers are cool. I really, really like synthesizers as
well. Yeah… I want to grab all that
80s stuff up and wrap it around me like a warm blanket. I’m on the last season of Miami Vice on
Netflix.

How did you get started with this five-track EP?

ALAN: I don’t really consider
it an EP at the moment. We’ve been
adding songs to our catalogue track by track over the last few months. We’re
working on a proper release.

CHRISTOPHER: It’s more of a collection of songs that
started with a track I had laying around and Alan had a vocal melody from a
tune he wrote. His track was used for
something else and so we put the orphaned melody on to this track idea and really
liked the result. So we decided to see
what else was floating around and finished writing a few more tracks. We have too many ideas we like and just keep
writing and finishing them off. I def
think putting a proper “album” together is close.

I just heard your new track, Atlantic Sudden. MODERNS are
producing sounds more pop than electronic. An opportunity area of synth that’s
perhaps ripe and untried. Do you guys see yourselves as aligned with the
aesthetic of someone like Trevor Something? Or anyone?

ALAN: I’m a big fan of the retro
scene. Each artist adds their own touch to the genre which is one of the
reasons why I’m such a big fan. We all have that main sound in common which is
where our similarities end. Whichever direction we take that sound is up to us.
I think it’s exciting.

CHRISTOPHER: I’m waiting to get into dark gothic
minimalist. Not really. (Kinda).
We’ve added this singer Rosie into the mix and she is on Atlantic Sudden
a bit. The next track we’re putting
together, she sings herself. I can’t
align us to anything else, really, but I’m sure there will be similarities to
others here and there. We’re creating
whatever we find pleasing and enjoyable to us, so some might be pop oriented
and some will be instrumental. All will be
electronic. No horn sections in our
future.

You guys have a great sort of 80s synthpop wave sound. I’m always
pondering the notion of synth artists playing more live shows. Any plans?

ALAN: Yes, definitely! I would love
to see more Synthwave artists take their music to the stage. I had the honor of
performing with Arcade High and ‪Bourgeoisie earlier this year. It was an
amazing show! We need more of that!

CHRISTOPHER:
OH man… I’m really into the live thing.
I’ve been out touring doing FOH and really want to put together a great
sounding and looking show. That idea
makes me happy. Any electronic visual
artists out there want to do something?