Meet the Band


As I've mentioned, the game is focused on an early 1980s synthpop group. The sort of band who may have sat well on a UK Chart Hits 82 compilation album, along with Yazoo, Dollar, Ultravox, Human League, OMD. I've put together a playlist of the synthpop influences that I've taken on board.

The pop group are fronted by Seline Denat (she/her)  and Videl Renahda (he/him) - no, they're not anagrams :-) but names created using mathematical averages of other pop stars who have inspired the project. Other names within the game also give a nod to those inspirations. Currently the band members can be found moonlighting on stock footage sites. ;-D

The back story of the band, how they came about, their successes/failures, and lives are coming together nicely. I am really enjoying building this fictional biography - a lot of which is shared via the exhibition dedicated to the band, and old articles in pop magazines. Side characters include a high profile star-maker manager, unhappy musicians, obsessive fans and friends and family. All of it is set within what I want to be an authentic context of the UK in the early 1980s. It's been fun researching this side of things - I am an obsessive when it comes to early 1980s synth pop - and having a great excuse to go to the British Library to read back issues of Smash Hits and The Face magazines has been brilliant.  Taking in the pop culture and fashion of the time, along with the political context, is really interesting, and has given me so many new ideas about this part of the game.

And without the internet and other obsessive fans I wouldn't have been able to identify the types of synths, drum machines, effects and equipment high profile musicians of the time would have had access to. I've found some great sites that list these things, for example Muzines. It's particularly important, because part of the project involves writing and producing songs that this fictional pop group performed at the time. Having to be strict about the kit I use for putting the tracks together has been a useful learning experience. I've got a few songs drafted, have a demo of one song completed with a fantastic session singer on, and am almost ready to ask them sing on another. I'm currently limiting myself to emulations of Wasp, Jupiter 4, K700 synthesizers, LM-1 & TR-808 drum machines, and Mellotron, but need to be careful to ensure that they are an authentic simulation of the original instruments.

Within the game, the plan is to also create a retro style mini game featuring the two singers.

  Anyway, time to get on with some more of that music. :-)



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