Canadian‑British synth artist Soft Riot, now based in Glasgow (UK), presents a striking new music video for “Ghostwriter”, the latest visual chapter from his full‑length album Crux, released in May via Possession Records. Steeped in 80s new‑wave aesthetics and graphic surrealism, the video offers a vivid counterpart to one of the album’s standout tracks.
“Ghostwriter” marks the second official promo video from Crux, following the April premiere of the album’s opening track “Moving Out Of The Black”, unveiled just ahead of the record’s 15 May release. As with much of Soft Riot’s visual output, the new video is a meticulously crafted piece: all graphics and editing handled by JJD, with animations created largely by hand using physically printed materials. Background textures and visual layers were projected, filmed, and re‑filmed to achieve the video’s analogue, dreamlike quality.
Soft Riot explains the process behind the work: “The video for ‘Ghostwriter’ took a while to set up and plan — I had hoped to finish it a month or two earlier, but promoting the new Crux and Alter releases, along with everything else in my life outside of being ‘Soft Riot’, pushed the timeline. Sometimes the planning stage takes the most time. The video can be viewed on two levels: the obvious surface of what the viewer sees, and a more graphic, surrealist collage — quite different from the performance‑based videos that dominate the genre.”
Crux stands as the latest evolution in Soft Riot’s fifteen‑year journey through synthesizer‑driven post‑punk. Across dozens of releases and regular European tours, JJD has carved out a distinctive sonic identity that blends darkwave, new wave, post‑punk, italo, and EBM influences. His work often evokes the spirit of Fad Gadget, Prince, early Simple Minds, Skinny Puppy, Bill Nelson, and the current wave of underground synth artists — yet remains unmistakably his own.
With “Ghostwriter”, Soft Riot continues to expand the visual and conceptual world of Crux, offering a piece that is both nostalgic and forward‑thinking, tactile and surreal — a reminder of the unique space he occupies within the modern synth underground. Link
Dutch black metal entity Asgrauw has unveiled "Nadirflux", the third advance single from its impending opus, Solips, slated for release on 12 November via Zwaertgevegt, Hidden Marly...
Turkish darkwave act Ductape have offered a video for the track "D.E.R.T". The clip marks the sixth visual release from the band's latest full-length, Faded Flowers, which arrived in...
German medieval folk metal titans Feuerschwanz ignite the night with their new single “Carpe Noctem”, a powerful collaboration with the legendary In Extremo. The track merges Feuerschwanz’s...
Northern Irish death/doom metal trio The Crawling have issued their new EP, What We Leave Behind, through Grindscene Records on CD, cassette, and digital formats. The outfit are also set...
"They wrote that we wanted to influence people's minds with our bagpipes so that they would be willing to attack the police." - Irdorath
"I always wanted to express my emotions with my music, and this is what I do. And I think true music lovers feel when music is coming from the heart." - Tilo Wolff
"We go searching for sounds and ideas within ourselves and there in our dreams, in the moments when 'we are not here'." - Elena Alice Fossi
"We're fucking vampires, you know? The desire to stay young forever is always there. But alienation — that definitely comes from being a non‑human person." - Lee Margot
