There’s enough new music released every year that you can find new synth-pop artists just about any time you look, but fans of the genre know how fast that can blend into the same lofi synth noises. How often do you find a young synth artist confident enough in their voice and style to create a unique sound? Just like the cover art for his new single, “Shadows Fall,” Phenta Soldier wants to throw open those bleak doors and answer the question with piercing red color and patiently echoing synth beats. It’s a new track that Phenta Soldier released for Halloween, and it’s got something special you’ll want to hear.
Take a moment and get atmospheric, gothic, and abstract: what’s the sound of a falling shadow, assuming you can find it on a synthesizer? It’s not just dark. Shadow needs light to cast it, so the sound is more than silence. It’s got to be the echo, right?
Phenta Soldier’s “Shadows Fall” hits the familiar synth beats that genre lovers have appreciated since synth-pop’s inception, with those sharp rain-drop-like teases overlapping behind, echoing to reverberate with low, patient lyrics. It itches the same part of the brain that deep, powerful brown noise can touch, but that’s just an entry point. It sneaks up through the brain’s roots, then sings with a strange, somber sort of brightness, lifting a brilliant red sound in the most satisfying way.
For the best comparison, you need to leave the genre and go all the way back to the atmospheric rock of 2008, where you’ll find “Frozen Oceans” by Shiny Toy Guns striking a similar emotion. But while Shiny Toy Guns creates this feeling with guitar, bass, and keyboard erupting in almost violent punk grunge, “Shadows Fall” achieves a gentler, more careful sound. Phenta Soldier uses a comparatively minimal mix of echoing synth, a gentle chime, and a pattern of backing track carried from the song’s opening, alongside those smooth vocals.
It’s shocking, actually, to feel that kind of atmospheric power rise from a low synth vibe. The comparison isn’t perfect, of course. Phenta Soldier’s gothic aesthetic is something completely his own, and there’s nothing to point to except the subculture itself. The combination is well-established in the history of the genre, and in counter-culture music in general, but there’s something special and new here. You just have to hear it.
Who is Phenta Soldier? It’s a question no one can answer, perhaps not even Phenta Soldier himself. He’s a young artist with a career that’s almost a blank slate, except for one single from 2023 and now the brand-new “Shadows Fall.” He cites inspiration from a trip to Japan as a teenager and the visual Kei rock bands he encountered there, and he has experience from some past record deals and releases that he’s decided to put behind him. “I didn’t like the control that being with a big label came with,” says Phenta Soldier, “People telling you how you should look or how something should sound, etc. This kind of meddling in one’s art leads you to kind of lose your identity and forget what you were doing in the first place.”
Phenta Soldier is trying to recreate himself as something new, starting with a fresh identity and going from there. He says he wants to be “like the Batman of pop music. An enigma.” He still has his experience, though, and is using that to plan a bold beginning, with another release titled “I’m Still (Bored)” slated for early 2025, a whole album full of songs planned for later that year, and aspirations for more visual projects.
Phenta Soldier is establishing a powerful presence across social media and taking advantage of the excellent streaming environment for indie artists. If you’re interested in synth-pop, atmospheric music, Japanese-inspired vibes, or anything that might grow out of these projects, you should follow his Instagram, YouTube, or Spotify to see what he becomes. There’s great potential here, and you won’t want to miss out.
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