Zone Tripper – Powerplay (Subculture Records)

Review:CD-reviews buiten BeNeLux
  Van Muylem    6 mei 2023

Zone Tripper is a self-proclaimed "Power Synth" project of miss Digre aka Technomancer. Influenced by late 80's sci-fi and the big powerful synthesizer sound of the 80's, Zone Tripper is a Retro Wave revival of the late 80's Space Synth movement by projects such as LaserDance, Koto and Proxyon.


Well we get 9 new tracks by our specialist of the 80’s wave and synth music! It's not the first time I review Zone Tripper, so I'm by long used to the regular sound, just the tracks and recent changes are new to me, so here we go:

We start with Prototype and a clear 80’s sound with the typical electronic drums and a space synth touch. You can feel the positive vibes all the way! It’s simply space tripping through time!

Accelerate goes a bit faster (excuse me for the wordplay). This one might even hit the dancefloor! The global sound is fresh and really great!

Red Force starts with a spooky sound, joined by a bit of a tribal fuze and great electronic sounds (synths and electronic drum). Later o the sounds gets a more space travelling minded touch with a positive mood.

Shadowdancer clearly has that 80’s touch, genre Miami Vice versus Front 242 (without the vocals). This song was originally composed for the "Dog And Spider" book series by Victor Ziblis.

Star Viper goes into the space tripping zone and with a touch of “Everything is awesome (or what was this catchphrase in The Lego Movies 1 & 2 again?). I can imagine this song might be used in future old school video games where you have to travel from one place to another and shoot at things with your space engine!

Infinity is a bit like the story of Star Track: going where no-one has ever gone before and reach out the unique places … at least that’s the feeling I get when I listen to this song.

The Event Horizon is according to me based on a 2006 science fiction horror film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and written by Philip Eisner. I like the beats and the tempo: it’s pretty high and has a good drive, next to the positive feelings I get whilst listening to it.

Crossfire has a deep bass and a more modern sound. The song feels like fit for clubland! Be ready to dance!

Noctural Activity (Reactivated) is the last track and ends the exploration of the cosmos with a positive note.

It was again a very positive trip through space and time. I heard good things and even took note of some possible dancefloor fillers! I hope you will all enjoy it as much as I did as this one is a must have for lovers of the 80’s sounds!

Check it here: Powerplay | Zone Tripper (bandcamp.com)

And don't forget to check out this one: Jessica's Uncomfortable Hanukkah Adventure op Steam (steampowered.com)