What does Shortwave Research Group sound like?

Dark ambient meets cinematic electronic music.

The review of Shortwave Research Group – Echelon II

I love a music project that has a very distinct and specific vision and the duo behind Shortwave Research Group has just that. They want to create dystopian textured electronic music. It floats somewhere between dark ambience and sci-fi or cyberpunk cinema. Sometimes it is shamanic in the way it zones in on awkward rhythmic tensions. ‘Echelon II’ follows on from the first ‘Echelon’ release in 2023, when those dark and dangerous textured patterns really came to life.

Picture of Shortwave Research Group — Shortwave Research Group

The opening track ‘FIVE EYES’ is like a cinematic opening credits sequence. Diasporian synths gently oscillate and glide like they are frozen in time, presenting a softer, more malleable side to the music that doesn’t appear often. Underneath this sits layers of harsh, bitter wintered razor-edged bass synths that warble, drone and decay like buzzsaws running out of battery. Every note feels dangerous and earned and this carries forward into the bass forward ‘FOLDING & UNFOLDING’. Here a dirge beat pounds slowly as those harsh, grizzled and bleak bass growls return. Unlike the opening track, things feel more abstract here but become more melodic over the seven-minute runtime. There is a hidden computer freakout unfolding deep in the mix like the duo has borrowed one of Heinali’s generative synths and let it run riot. The dystopia bites with every chord and it sounds beastly.

‘SHADOW DREAM’ allows Shortwave Research Group to play with the edges of sound. Distant, bass hues and empty hollow room noise create the short interlude. It is cinematic noise but it also reminds me of the FMV opening sequence to the original Formula 1 PS1 game as it uses distorted electric guitar feedback to create shards of light and pain. This leads us to the near ten-minute finale ‘GRAVITY WELL’. Here keyboards and guitars seem like they are crushed into a low-slung cry for help. The bass power throughout this track is immense as layer upon layer are dubbed over each other. Your ears need to be comfortable working with keyboard-through-guitar-amp-styled grime and dirt. Its designed to make you feel oppressed and uncomfortably numb and it does it with aplomb.

I don’t usually click with pure dark ambience and heavy bass tones because many releases feel like cheap Sci-Fi knockoffs. Shortwave Research Group knows exactly how to tease out intrigue and broad-stroke drama through their clever set-ups and oppressive and dimly lit sound design. This is an excellent continuation of ‘Echelon’ and sells the vibe of crawling out of a bunker to see what devastation has become of the world perfectly. Yay for dystopian bass!

Recommended track: FOLDING & UNFOLDING

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