Gravity Noir – ‘Future Days’ is at once impressive!

The founder of British Synth-Pop band, Gravity Noir, British-Belgian dual citizen Patrick John Angele Knight, has worn many artistic hats. Between 1985 and 1996 he performed as a Boy George tribute. In 1987 he was named among the top-12 best sound-mixers in Belgium by Joepie magazine. He won podium placings on Dutch television’s Soundmixshow and also appeared on the British show Stars in Their Eyes. Knight is the founder, and only permanent member of Gravity Noir, who changed their name for a period, before going back to the original one in 2016.

The band was joined by Andrew Williams in 2016 as a vocalist and wind instrumentalist, while female lead singer Ambrosia Dash, also lent her voice to Gravity Noir on various occasions during their comeback. During this time, the band successfully released the ‘Handmade’ album, which they followed up with the ‘Liberation’ album, in 2017.

In 2019 they began work on their third album, ‘Future Days’, which saw the light in 2020. This is what I would call a gateway album to a modern version of synth-pop music, which nowadays we know better as EDM. Gravity Noir started a new chapter in 2016, improving all aspects of their brand.

Each song on the new album has a much deeper, more complex sound, classifying most of the songs on ‘Future Days’ as a bigger, more progressive part of the EDM genre. When I sat down and took a listen to the whole album, I was utterly blown away by how much I enjoyed it. Right from the start, with ‘Overture (Longitude)’, the sound is expansive and epic, while the vocals instantly captivate. The orchestration and arranging is at once impressive.

The new album contains vocal tracks for both on and off the dancefloors, as well as many elaborated, energetic, powerful instrumental interludes. In fact the upbeat, funk driven energy of ‘Future Days’ is ready to majestically sweep across any dancefloor. ‘Luminescense’ is carried by a four to the floor techno beat, as it builds into a thrashing rhythm. Each and every one of these songs portray the great diversity and willingness to experiment, that marks the Gravity Noir sound.

‘Transcendence’ is another superbly constructed floor-crusher, featuring epic synths and creative percussion. ‘Chapter One & Two (Altitude & Latitude)’ switches the sonic template into rich and resonant ambient soundscape, featuring guitars and horns. ‘Flying High’ takes us back to the club, and typical anthemic-styled vocal hooks, as Gravity Noir sticks to its consistently high gear sound.

The funk and soul fused sounds of ‘Planet Called Love’ brings strong nostalgic tones with its wall of disco strings, and slapping drums. ‘Hot Summer Medley’ starts with breathy and ethereal vocals, before the rhythm bursts out of nowhere to balance the direction of the sound which is ever-changing.

‘Only You’ (ft. Andrew Williams) is a cover of the 1982 Yazoo classic, which sticks fairly close to the original script, except for turning the pace up ever so slightly. ‘Fluorescence (Reality)’ floats airy vocals, thumping drums, busy basslines and vintage piano chords, which signals yet another sonic transition. Gravity Noir’s soundscapes are not only richly layered, but keep shifting in some direction or other.

A mix between 80’s dance-pop and 2000’s Daft Punk funkiness, ‘Universal Party (Supernatural)’ brings another flurry of nostalgia with cool retro sounds to set any party alight. The groove of the hook is infectious and the variation they throw in takes you on a ride with this song. The album closer, “The Thrifty Wife & the Kite (Ft. Banjax)”, is a Gravity Noir remix of the song written by Keith Leech, a member of folk and ceilidh-dance band, Banjax.

Throughout this album, you are able to get inside Gravity Noir’s mindset and live through what they have worked so hard towards since their comeback. The duality of ‘Future Days’ is what sets it apart from a lot of electronica and EDM coming out of late. You can blast this on the dancefloor and let it all hang out, or you can simply chill in your room, and blow this through your headset.

Also be on the lookout for Gravity Noir’s latest single, “All Night Long”, released a couple of months back, and not featured on the album. This one’s also written by Patrick J. A. Knight, and features Ambrosia Dash on vocals.

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