Alex & Tokyo Rose are back with their spellbinding latest album, ‘AKUMA II’. Alex & Tokyo Rose are a collaborators in the Retrowave genre. Their fresh and exciting songs are sure to take the scene by storm this September.

The 10 track album is filled with classic songs from the beginning to the end. All instrumentals, each track is filled with memorable riffs, luscious beats and gorgeous synths.

‘3am’ opens the album with rising synths and a compelling beat. There is a Trapp feel under pinning the song with 80s synths creating texture. We loved, ‘Awakening’ for its mysterious beginnings, ‘Mean Streets’ for the clever production (the listener feels as though they are overhearing parts of the track) and ‘Danger City’ which has a Phat beat and layers of wonderful texture. Infectious listening for sure!

Alex & Tokyo Rose are reinventing a much-loved genre with this album. They are leading the way with their mix of 80s/90s sound of Retrowave. It has been brilliantly mixed with 2019’s electronic music to create this unique and characterful release. Alex & Tokyo Rose say, “Retrowave fans can expect a more modern approach without losing that nostalgic feel.” This is exactly the vibe that has been achieved.

‘AKUMA II’ was also produced by Alex & Tokyo Rose. This has been executed well with crisp and clean production. With so many layers it would be easy for the tracks to sound muddy but this is most certainly not the case. Everything has its own space in the mix and each layer can be easily identified by the listener.

2017 saw the release of the album, ‘AKUMA’ which charted on Billboard Electronic Album Charts at #15. This year, ‘AKUMA II’ bested its predecessor by charting on Billboard Electronic Album Chart at #5 and the iTunes electronic album sales chart at #13. AKUMA II is the highest-charting album for NRW Records so far. We can certainly see why. In a pop-driven world, music lovers are desperate for an alternative and they certainly get that with this magnificent release.

With a mind-blowing 895,360 subscribers to their youtube channel, we can not believe we are so late to the party. Alex & Tokyo Rose whose innovative and ever-evolving style of writing is going from strength to strength. They are ones to look out for in the future and we wish them every success with their future projects.

FVMusicBlog September 2019

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