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Splatter VHS is Caid, and Caid is Splatter VHS. They are the self professed cryptid of Brisbane, who revels in horror movies, special effects and creating synth based instrumental music. The end of 2024 marked the release of a new album in the form of Blue Haired Anime Girl, which rounds up a rather fruitful year from Splatter VHS.

The world is littered in fairy tales, of souls meeting and being pulled into equal orbits, or set for cataclysmic endings or expressing a love and admiration for someone who makes you feel like the weight of gravity is nothing. Single “Twin Stars” burns bright with the electronics bursting forth, tying in the science fiction futurism with looping and weaving synths .

An air of dark excitement pushes through in “Return To The Maze,” and may I just add this labyrinth actually does exist in real life. A basement that is a shared space with history’s ghosts, that is shrouded in comfortable crepuscule that would pulsate with this track. There is no escape from the “Vampires Kiss” and you can revel in the quirky joy contained within ‘Synthmas Kitten“

You can hear Caid’s connection to the cinema through their creations, which is a kin to using music to evoke emotions and paint scenes, just as movies do. One could say that John Carpenter has been a huge influence both theatrically and musically, plus the tracks reflect the 80s explosion of using electronic music to express the modern horror of tales such as Friday the 13th or Halloween, and fantasy love stories like Lady Hawke or Legend (1985).. It is a bit retro, a bit sci-fi, a bit jigger-poky with a pointy things, a bit modern and a whole lot of fun. Paint a picture in your head and join the creatures that inhabit Caid’s mind with Splatter VHS. You can’t always run from where you are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dream yourself free.

Music | Splatter VHS

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Nikk Fail is an Italian retro synth project and his second EP, End Of The Line, was released in June. Consisting of six tracks, now Nikk Fail has brought some friends with him to play this time!!!

As soon as I heard the title “Bugstompers,” all I could think of was Starship Troopers, the rather questionable 90s movie about taking on alien bugs. The track itself has science fiction effects at play and seems to be promising slightly violent intent. First guest vocalist is Eleonora Ferrari on “End Of The Line,” an ominous portrayal that she is the end of everything, and will happily end everything. Ferrari goes from cooing into blood curdling gurgling squeals within a split second. The next instrumental is “Living Dead Lights,” and the music is both eerie and haunting, to the point that one could say, light as an apparition and cool as a tomb.

You cannot get many more light years away than Star Wars, so in a galaxy far, far away the synths pass and whirr as if they are lightsabers in a duel in “Anakin Rampage (The Ballad of Vader).” If you listen carefully, I am sure you can hear the Cantina band. Next guests are BelvaSXE and William Baxter featuring on the track “Troma Boy,” and here we hear a harsher side to Nikk Fail, between the growling guitar and the equally growling vocals, and all the while the electronics keep up to the wailing pace. Last track is the contemplative “Commuting Paradise,” though this song, in its own way, is sassy and has teeth, with vocals from Giulia Finazzi and guitar by Baxter again.

Already, you can see since the first EP, Nikk Fail is evolving and incorporating more into his sound. Collaborating with other musicians is a great way to extend yourself and push what you can do, and I think you can hear this on End Of The Line. Makes you wonder what is next for Fail and who he might tap into the helping him fly even higher.

End Of The Line | Nikk Fail (bandcamp.com)

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As a kid, were you enchanted by movies such as Blade Runner, Tron and John Carpenter’s The Thing, and their futuristic soundtracks? Then the music of Nikk Fail might be for you. Milan based Fail has also found inspiration in this genre, and has released his debut EP Futuro Presente.

As the title of the EP infers, the instrumental “Futuro Presente,” is the now futuristic sounds building your anticipation, as the blatting bleeps mix with the tinkling synths, giving a sense of foreboding in the current climb. You have the “Supervillain” given a voice by Fail. Like a modern day Pink Panther with only evil intent. This alter ego however does his villainy in plain sight with the acclaim of the people. Can someone say politician.

There really is something very old school industrial about “Sirens“. Possibly the anguished vocals or the stalking rhythms and swirling electronics, but this is possibly my favourite off the EP. The last track is haunting instrumental “Serial K.G.“, that winds its way uncomfortably through your subconscious.

The premise behind Futuro Presente is the fact that so much of our subculture science fiction made in the 80s, had their future timelines set in what is, now, our present day. Did some of it come true? I will that leave thought with you, but if you need a soundtrack for those inner thoughts, or just damn well enjoy retro electronic music, then you really can’t go past Nikk Fail.

Futuro Presente | Nikk Fail (bandcamp.com)

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