Starfounder has a dark synth style that feels like an intoxicated state. The artist creates melodies from synth sounds that can be as rough around the edges as a dull, spinning surgical saw blade about to cut and masterfully uses beats that echo throughout dark spaces to amplify the intensity of the mood.
Starfounder’s music is not just dark in sound. It’s dark in spirit.
When Disguise was released in July, 2020, I expected to hear Starfounder’s dark synth style, and I did, but I immediately noticed something different. The songs were less structured, less predictable, and more spontaneous. The songs tell agonizing and torturous tales and are populated with melodies that meander and bully your subconsciousness.
the electroscape connected with Danila – the dark synth artist from Russia known as Starfounder – to learn a bit more about the artist, what inspires his work, and the making of Disguise.
Danila always wanted to make music and thought heavy metal would be his craft. But the tools of the trade – an electric guitar – were too costly. Danila was inspired to produce synthwave after hearing a track by Perturbator called “Humans Are Such Easy Prey,” which is when he discovered how dark and heavy electronic music could be.
The rest is history.
Disguise
Disguise is one of Starfounder’s most intriguing releases. The cover art was created by Ulyana Petrova and conveys stealth, predation, and promises bad things are to come. The music on Disguise will be the soundtrack.
Disguise opens with “Stage I – Showtime” which foreshadows the psychologically menacing that looms. As the song closes, there is a noticeable feeling of lifting off the ground, folding seamlessly into “Triumph,” a track that features a dark synth melody that twists, winds, and creates a sense of movement, while the beats yield uncertainty and wariness. Many of the songs on Disguise feed into the next, adding to the coherence of the album.
“My Bat, Your Head” unapologetically conveys violence in the title and, aptly, plays like a story of premeditated violence. The bass line is the star of the show. At one moment, the song breaks down and the bass line ominously slithers through the weeds. The beats are like a single crack of the bat. The lead bass line invades. It’s an ambush.
On “Afterlife,” Starfounder exemplifies his capacity to create moments with sounds. Here, he uses atmospheric dark synth and a dark synth line that is gnaws to build a soundtrack to a real-life horror film. You are running down the hallway, frantically looking for a door to open, any door. But they are all locked. Your killer stalks you from behind. A synth solo emerges and unfolds over several minutes. You have stumbled upon an open door. You beat fate. You open the window and jump. And fall to your death.
The undertones on “Afterlife” continue on “Fearless,” built from atmospheric synth that sounds like ghosts blowing in the wind. The songwriting is fearless, too. Starfounder is not afraid to let the song break apart and the synth sounds do their work up upon the stage.
Danila said he would characterize his style as “experimental.” He said, when writing songs “I’m trying to be more unpredictable and use nothing but my own vision about the structure (it often happens on the fly and spontaneously).” The experimental quality of Disguise shines on “Stage II – Odyssey,” which is a definitive transition in the album.
What is unique about Disguise is it is divided into three parts – Stage I, II, and III – each has its own style, sound and atmosphere. Despite this coherence, Danila said he approaches songwriting on a track-by-track basis. Nevertheless, each album has one stable thing – a dark and heavy atmosphere. He said, “I can’t even explain why it should be dark. I just like it. Maybe I could explain if I knew myself better.”
The opening melody to “Stage II – Odyssey” feels hopeful and provides solace from the torturous attribute of Stage I. At one moment, Starfounder opens the space and boldly allows a single repetitive synth note do its work until the job is done. At another moment, Starfounder adds a healthy dose of insanity with unpredictable beats. Starfounder does not force more into the space than needs to be and gives the song the time it needs to tell its story. The song clocks in at seven minutes, built from distinct segments that play like a soundtrack to a short film.
“Arcade” is built around a dark funk melody and a lead synth line with a noticeably gritty texture. The song features a catchy retrowave melody with – dare I say – a pop element.
“Stage II – Nobody” plays like a jackhammer reverberating inside your head, an embodied experience that elicits a feeling of isolation. The complementary dark synth piles on desolation. “Disguise” showcases an essential quality of Starfounder’s albums which is the capacity to create emotions with synth sounds. Disguise comes to a close with “Disguise II”, which has a heavy nostalgic quality and feel like awakening after a nightmare. Fans can hear a Bandcamp exclusive track called “Eye for and Eye,” which features a dark synth melody that pokes and prods, with an elastic texture that distinctly characterizes much of Starfounder’s sound.
Dig Into Starfounder's Discography
I first stumbled across Starfounder when Tribute was released in January, 2018. I did what every good synthwave fan does – I copied the Bandcamp link and sent it to a friend and said, “You have to hear this.”
I began digging into Starfounder’s discography and discovered what the dark synth gods listen to, such as Deranged and Reprise. I eagerly awaited subsequent releases, such as Closure, Reckoning, and Vengeance, many on Electric Dream Records.
Explore Starfounder’s impressive body of work here and peruse some of the striking cover art, none depicting a more brutal scene than Vengeance.
Expect more dark synth releases from Starfounder to come in the future. Danila said he keeps pushing himself with each release. He said, “They are not perfect, just like me. That’s why I like them all.”
On the topic of the future, he said, “I would like to become more independent, so I can sit quietly and write some music without being distracted. Probably that’s all I want.”