The digital/acoustic ensemble The Safety Word teams up with UK-based retro wave extraordinaire Zak Vortex for their latest retro synthpop single, "Perfect Diamonds."
When one thinks of dynamic and versatile music, it's difficult to shy away from acts like The Safety Word, as they're well-known for taking listeners under their wing with down-tempo electronica spiced up with a twist of trip-hop and future r&b.
Comprised of John Rousvanis, Simon Quinn, and Craigus McVegas, The Safety Word recently paired up with the electronic stylings of Zak Vortex to produce their sweet-sounding and nostalgic hit, "Perfect Diamonds." With massive pad chords, shimmering arpeggiators, and a deep Moog bass, the track truly stands out as a soul-clutching listening experience.
Jumping into "Perfect Diamonds," the song opens with a chilling bass-like synth accompanied by a shimmering key melody that's bulldozed by a stomping drum arrangement and retro-inspired synths that float down from above. As John Rousvanis' warm and crooning vocals make their broad appearance, he begins to paint serene pictures of two carefree young lovers swooned by each other's presence and their untamed devotion to each other.
We love the mid-tempo and relaxed feel of this single, as it allows any listener to fully grasp each intricate and complex electronic element that The Safety Word and Zak Vortex have carefully placed into this heavy piece. Not to mention the song's bright melodic tones, The Safety Word, and Zak Vortex have made it incredibly easy for any listeners to chant their catchy lyrics while getting down to the song's overall retro groove.
Bask in the shimmering "Perfect Diamonds" with help from The Safety Word and Zak Vortex's latest single, now available on all digital streaming platforms.
What a chilling and deeply engaging listening experience you've provided with your latest single, "Perfect Diamonds." What inspired your group to write such a passionate and nostalgic hit like this?
Simon:
It came from a collaborative process with UK artist Zack Vortex, he provided the beat and main musical bed for the song. Upon first listen we were instantly inspired by his future-retro sounds. We got together in the studio and co-wrote the lyrics and added some extra synths to extenuate the vocal melodies. We are huge fans of 80s nostalgia and take great inspiration from the production techniques and songwriting styles of artists like Prince, David Bowie, Depeche Mode, and Pet Shop Boys to name a few. It’s not only the music of that time we are inspired by but the movies, fashion, and culture as well. It was just such an incredible period in time and there are endless pools of inspiration to draw from.
What drew you to the retro wave stylings of Zak Vortex to help produce your single, "Perfect Diamonds"? What was your collaborative experience like behind the scenes?
John:
Like us Zak Vortex has a very genuine love of 80s nostalgia on all levels, he releases his music on cassette tapes and also has a collection of video and retro arcade machines. He did a remix for us early in the year of our single “Saw You In A Dream”. Zak approached us for this collab with an instrumental that he had created that he thought would be perfect for us to add our synth-pop flair to. The creative process was fun, innocent, we just explored sounds and lyrics and just wanted to have evoked that 80's mindset for a time and block out the current state of the world.
Who wrote the passionate lyricism within "Perfect Diamonds"? What sort of feelings or emotions did you want to evoke in your audience through the song's romantic lyricism?
John:
I wrote the lyrics and for me again it was exploring lyrical landscapes that I have not written about before, so it was new for me and innocent/naive, but at the same time having some hidden deeper double meanings in the lyrics. It really was evoking a time where things were a bit more simple and straight to the point, also allowing the audience to take the song as a vehicle for their own outlet emotionally.
Does your group normally release such retro-inspired tunes like "Perfect Diamonds"? Or would you say that this single is rather different from the rest of your discography?
Simon:
I think we have elements of retro in there but mixed with newer elements, so this really is a stand-out straight-up retro track. We have a couple of new tracks in different directions, ones very upbeat, the other is a darker emotional piece, we have a reggaeton-inspired collaboration we are doing with French producer Le Neptune as well as a whole bunch of other tracks in the pipeline. We like to keep our options open in terms of genres we explore, everything we do still manages to sound like us and there’s definitely a cohesion in everything we do. We just love exploring sound and seeing where our musical adventures will take us next.
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