I’ve just finished a brand new album of CommsBreakdown music – and it’s out now on all your favourite music streaming platforms!
Dadtronica Eclectica takes you on a journey, mixing CommsBreakdown’s trademark environmental noises, melodic hooks and ambient soundscapes with beats, bass and 120bpm+ tempos. It’s an album that works as well on the dancefloor as it does sitting at home listening on headphones.
“Think of Dadtronica Eclectica as a journey through the day, starting in the morning with leftfield house and techno, then taking in retro electro, melodic house and drum & bass for a night on the town, before crashing out in the gutter with more chilled, downtempo vibes.”
What does Dadtronica mean?
If you’re scratching your head and wondering what ‘Dadtronica’ is…it’s my slightly tongue-in-cheek definition of the kind of music I (and many other more mature producers) make.
“Dadtronica (definition): retro-influenced electronica and dance music, made by mature producers who mix 80s, 90s and 00s influences with 21st century music-making.“
And Eclectica? That just refers to the eclectic and varied nature of the tracks on this new CommsBreakdown album.
I wanted to reference all the styles and genres of dance music and electronica that have influenced me over the years. I started out emulating 80s synth pop, moved on to producing house and techno and made a few drum & bass tracks back in the mid nineties – including this track, Panic Attack by Wavebreaker, on the Vibez label.
You’ll hear all those influences floating around on Dadtronica Eclectica. Let’s dive into the album while I give you the lowdown on each track.
1. Maggies In The Morning
The sound of Australian magpies kicks off the album, giving you a flavour of dawn in the Southern Hemisphere, before a classic four-on-the-floor kick drum acts as the caffeine to get you awake and ready for the day, with the birds providing their own accompaniment.
Bird sounds are courtesy of our resident Australian magpie pair.
2. Wow & Flutter
Wonky synths form the introduction, mimicking the wow and flutter of old-school cassette tapes, evolving into UK garage-influenced beats that give this track a swung noughties groove alongside the classic CommsBreakdown melodic electronica.
3. Starlings From On High
Featuring the real-life sounds of the amazing starling, The Mouth (bird friend of Inky Dragon), this track kicks off with the sampled starling tweets, whistles and percussive sounds, gradually adding more elements to create a progressive ‘bird house’ track.
Bird samples are provided by the starling, The Mouth, with permission from @InkyDragon on Instagram.
4. Bong Bong Common
Take a step back into the land of the Ancestors and imagine kookaburras laughing from the gum trees and cicadas chirping in the long grass, as the Australian sun beats down from above. Acid basslines slide in, bringing you back to the 21st century, ready to dance and celebrate.
Nature samples were captured at Bong Bong Common, Southern Highlands, NSW, the traditional home of the Gundungurra and Dharawal (Tharawal) people.
5. Electro Heart
Jump into your time machine and head back to the eighties for a slice of pure retro electro, as breakdance beats and vocoder vocals lead you into an nineties rave middle section of stabs and breaks. Pure nostalgia from beginning to end.
Vocoder vocals courtesy of CommsBreakdown.
6. Cold As Winter
Inspired by the chill of a winter’s day in the Australian Southern Highlands, natural sounds lead you into this track, before the twang of a synth guitar draws you into the melodic house beat. A 303 acid bassline ups the energy and drums morph the track into a DnB break.
7. Easy Does It
Return to the nineties and the early days of drum & bass, when liquid breaks and soulful vocals ruled the clubs. Sampled vibes create a warm bath of sound, before the gritty breaks kick in and the low sub-bass hits you square in the midriff and takes the track directly to the dancefloor.
8. Lunatic Breaks
Taking a trip on the dark side of drum & bass, twisted, cut-up breaks take the tempo up to 180bpm and hit you with the intensity of a sound system that’s making the club really shake. The pinnacle of your night on the town, leaving you exhausted but triumphant.
Pitched-down spoken vocal courtesy of CommsBreakdown.
9. Down In The Gutter
The club is over, the night buses have stopped and you’re left lying in the gutter, rain pouring down as ambient textures wash over you and you replay the night in your mind. Downtempo moods accompany the taxi ride home as you lose yourself in electronic soundscapes.
10. Splashing In Puddles
The walk home is enlivened by a moment spent reliving the childhood pleasures of splashing in the inviting puddles. Thinking back to a seventies and eighties childhood, full of high-energy hits, Top Of The Pops and the synth basslines of Italo-disco and synth-pop duos.
Puddle-splashing courtesy of CommsBreakdown on a rainy day in the Southern Highlands, NSW.
11. It’s Been A Journey
You’re home, and it’s time for headphones and classic IDM as warped synths and Mellotron samples set the mood. But your mind is back in the club, helping you remix the music into a 21st century, dancefloor banger, before you gradually fall into a well-deserved sleep.
More CommsBreakdown music on the way soon…
There’s a second ‘sister album’ on the way soon called Dadtronica Ambientus. It’s the flipside to Dadtronica Eclectica, turning down the tempo, easing off on the beats and creating lush ambient soundscapes and natural textures.
In the meantime go listen to Dadtronica Eclectica and enjoy these new beats!
Follow my Bandcamp page and socials for more updates!
- Bandcamp: commsbreakdown.bandcamp.com
- Threads: @steve.ash2
- Instagram: @steve.ash2
- BlueSky: steveash.bsky.social
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