R-Fen - To the Mars and Back
Dance/Electronica, New Age
Jakarta, Indonesia
Overall Impression: Erfen, better known by his fans as R-Fen, is a doctor and lawyer by day and an 80's rock star by night! A delightful young man from Indonesia who spends every second he can get creating cinematic pieces perfect for an epic 80's soundtrack. R-Fen has had a life-long passion for music and has been involved in creating music since he was 8 years old, but has only been officially releasing his music as of this year. With his latest single "To the Mars and Back", which was inspired by SpaceX, R-Fen finds himself carefully crafting his song to mimic an actual trip to Mars and back home to Earth. "To the Mars and Back" is just that, a total musical trip or journey back in time to another place that seems familiar yet somehow appears brand new. The buzzy square wave synth tracks, densely layered, create a solid backdrop for the song, 'all systems go' as the beat drops and the journey begins
Strongest Point(s): R-Fen incorporates great song structure, development and overall composition with his single "To the Mars and Back". The sounds are spot on too, I love the 'video game' sounding chords and melody! And some of the synths actually resemble alert alarms you might hear during this type of voyage!! The portamento feature on the synth solo is also really cool, subtle production techniques like these help finalize the overall sound and tie everything together. And R-Fen really knows how to layer parts in and out creating a desirable developmental arc which is a key ingredient to a quality song and something every song should possess.
Target Audience Appeal: Fans of Synthwave, Retrowave, Electronica, Dance, Space Disco, or simply fans of 80's music will all enjoy R-Fen's work, his catalog might be exactly what you are looking for! R-Fen may be somewhat new to the scene, but he has already put out 6 singles in just a few months, and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. So check out his work, it's guaranteed to put you in a good mood!
Artist target suggestions: Daniel T., Todd Terje, Lindstrom, Lorenz Rhode, Harvey Sutherland, Big Black Delta, Crazy P, Crazy Penis, Dam Swindle, The Juan Maclean, Poolside, Cut Copy, Quantic
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About the Reviewer:
Erik Anderson is a graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Production and Engineering and has been managing his own recording studio for almost 20 years. Erik has had a true passion for music since an early age taking piano lessons, he then started playing bass guitar in his early teens and was making hip hop beats by the age of 17, before heading off to Berklee where he also studied arranging, theory, traditional harmony and ear training as well as bass proficiency. After graduating, Erik worked at several recording studios in New York and New Jersey, before starting his own studio which spawned his 4-piece experimental indie rock band. Currently a member of Taxi, and is submitting his original compositions for placements in TV/Film.