The synthwave icon found inspiration in Blade Runner, Cyberpunk 2077 and Mad Max when developing his latest album and its impressive videos.
The legendary creator of dark synthwave, Carpenter Brut, has returned with the third chapter in his Leather trilogy.
The French icon has a tendency to release his work in triptychs. His first three EPs, modestly titled EP I, EP II and EP III, were compiled and released as Trilogy. Brut kicked off his Leather series with 2018’s Leather Teeth before returning four years later with Leather Terror, and now, four years after that, comes the release of his stunning new album, Leather Temple.
Prior to the release, EDM.com spoke with Brut to discuss the media that inspired his work. It’s no secret that horror and sci-fi movies from the 1980s have influenced his sound, but even a modern-day video game like Cyberpunk 2077 found its way into the mix. He says the “story, the actors, the music and the visuals” from Blade Runner are at the top of his list for inspiration, while Back to the Future Part II, Mad Max and the iconic anime film Akira influenced his latest album.
After an orchestral interlude transports you to this futuristic world, the gameplay begins on an explosive note with ‘Major Threat.’ The aptly titled track warns of what’s to come with its breakneck, pulsating beat and heavyweight synths, providing just the right amount of levity to make it danceable yet hard-hitting.
Before today’s release of the full album, fans were welcomed into the universe Brut has been creating for over a decade by virtue of several Hollywood-quality music videos. That includes its title track, ‘Leather Temple,’ which sharply switches gears by leaning into Brut’s darker sensibilities with hefty doses of heavy-metal production.
‘She Rules the Ruins’ keeps the rock influence but moves to a more speed-metal sound than the grinding breakdowns of its predecessor. ‘Start Your Engines’ and ‘Neon Requiem’ are purebred retrowave offerings with classic synth and accelerating production that will cause your speakers or headphones to have neon seep out of them.
Elsewhere in the album, it’s easy to imagine ‘Iron Sanctuary’ being played in Mad Max, with operatic vocal hits and crowd chants as if Immortan Joe was speaking to his War Boys.
‘The Misfits / The Rebels’ sees Brut once again push the tempo with a surprisingly modern sound infused with his signature nostalgic production. The accompanying animated music video perfectly displays this sound with plenty of classic anime easter eggs, including the iconic “Akira slide.”
‘Speed or Perish’ is the most cinematic offering on the Leather Temple. It begins on a minimal note but takes the advice of its title and speeds into a dramatic conclusion filled with twinkling keys and a driving beat to round out the third chapter in the Leather saga before the album’s coda.
This masterful track received an extended music video with a full acting cast, stunts and special effects. You can see a futuristic race to the death with the competitors smashing through a cyberpunk course using anything at their disposal to send the other racers into a neon abyss.
The album’s final track, ‘The End Complete,’ moonlights as a sigh of relief for those who endured the mayhem of Brut’s latest sonic universe. Subtle 8-bit sounds plink in the background of this gentle comedown as listeners are guided off into a digital sunset, rolling the credits on another phenomenal album from one of the most influential artists in synthwave.
You can find Leather Temple on streaming platforms here.
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