Le Matos: Chronicles of The Wasteland
Of all sounds that best fit Cyberpunk, I often find that the retro-80s roots and electronica of Synthwave are a snug fit. One great example of such an up-and-coming artistic group is that of Canadian band Le Matos.
Their music combines retro synthwave in a beautiful Canadian blend of Electronica. Inspired by the likes of Vangelis, John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, and other 80s movie soundtrack composers, Le Matos was founded by Jean-Nicholas Leupi and Jean-Philippe Bernier in Montreal in 2007. The group released their first singles, 88mph and 58 minutes pour vivre, in a digital album labeled Coming Soon 2007-2011. The group then released a proper debut in 2013 called Join US, but the group didn’t become as well-known until the created the soundtrack (and subsequent remix) for the incredible independent film Turbo Kid. When the movie was presented at the Sitges International Festival of Fantastic Cinema in Catalunya, it won a best music award. They also released their single, No Tomorrow featuring Pawws, with a music video that also serves as a prequel to the film. Although the music video is really interesting and explains how Apple came to be where she was when she meets The Kid, I personally didn’t like Pawws’ vocal contribution to the song. It felt too bubble-gum peppy for me, although the electronic synths from Le Matos are good as ever.
Le Matos is still growing in the Synthwave sphere, where they have also created a song called Kiyoko that went to the credits scene of the fan-made live action tribute trailer called The Akira Project (http://www.akira-project.com/ )
While much of their music is excellent, my particular favorites of theirs are found in the 50-track album Chronicles of the Wasteland. I stumbled upon them via Pandora, which is great because it means that they’re gaining traction in streaming websites such as Pandora and also Spotify, in addition to traditional venues such as Soundcloud and Bandcamp.
The track that hooked me was the mellow beauty called “Like Faith or Some Shit”. I actually listened to their tunes before I had ever seen Turbo Kid, and as I listened to their tracks on repeat via Soundcloud I pictured myself in the wastelands of Blade Runner or behind a tinted glass with loglo outside being driven somewhere clandestine in the rain.
Le Matos is slang for “equipment” in French, and although all members come from the hardcore scene, they are described as straight edge (no drugs and no alcohol).
If you haven’t already, or even if you have, I recommend checking out Turbo Kid again.
I’m not sure if it would qualify as Cyberpunk or not (I’m leaning towards Dystopian future with a couple cyberpunk elements in it) but it’s an excellent fun film, made particularly memorable by the quirkiness of Apple, the silly over the top gore and excellent costumes, and the unusual yet familiar storyline. What’s more, you can enjoy the film that much more if you pay special attention to the soundtrack. This is one way you can revisit old movies, after having listened closely to the soundtrack independently from the film and then upon seeing the film again you get a better appreciation for the whole product.
Listen to the full album on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/lematos/sets/chronicles-of-the-wasteland-1
For Le Matos’ website, check them out here: http://www.lematos.com/