In this mix series we invite local DJs to get creative with each issue’s theme. For February's game-themed mag, Galaxy Wolf In Space offers up a set of glitched-out bliss...
Galaxy Wolf In Space is a musical group with collaboration at its heart - the type of niche, proudly weird but undoubtedly wonderful project that is often discovered only after clicking yourself endlessly into an online black hole. Anyone who stumbles into GWIS’ creative world of productions will be encompassed by a strangely comforting mixture of synthwave / Italio disco / glitch-pop, presented via toxic-toned, pixelated original videos on a variety of virtual platforms.
With the perfect package of retro animations and chiptune soundbytes, GWIS’ ‘gameboy-ish music’ is the perfect fit for February’s gaming issue. Though you won’t find any original productions in mix - a notion they feel uncomfortable with - it’s easy to dive right into the ‘dystoptheque’ sound they coined to attempt to squeeze their genre-defying music into a brightly coloured box.
The outfit responsible for this month’s nostalgic mix is based here in Nottingham (you might recognise the name from a recent Hockley Hustle appearance), but after a quick catch up it’s clear that their approach to music is anything but naive:
Galaxy Wolf In Space On: Production
“I write on an app called Gadget by Korg on my iPad, then transfer those parts across onto a variety of synths that I've got cluttering up my house. Lorettes uses Logic Pro to input drums in through a Roland SPD-SX. She's based in Bristol so it's a long distance collaboration.”
Galaxy Wolf In Space On: Inspirations
“I definitely think we fit in that synthwave, outrun, retrowave 80s influenced kind of area but I always see that as maybe being quite proggy and I didn't think we're coming at it from that proggy angle. I'm really influenced by the way rhythms are built in 80s pop (like early Madonna, Mel and Kim or Bananarama) so that's a big influence too.
“Late 80s / early 90s video games which I grew up listening to inspire me, and definitely Italo disco and tech house, which all emerge out of that sound anyway
“Dystoptheque is a way of describing the sound and the vision I have for the project from an ideological perspective. There were a lot of dystopic images in my first album and the overall combination of those with the disco-influenced electronic music I was making at the time meant I was finding it hard to place it in a particular genre. So basically - I made one up.”
Galaxy Wolf In Space On: Music
“The sound changed after that first album and so now I see it as a level of social awareness in the music - our most recent track Plastic Crown is about western society's laissez-faire attitude towards climate change, for example.
“As well as releasing tracks on Spotify, Apple Music. YouTube etc, I also have a monthly radio show on HCR - it’s just me playing music I really like in a fairly informal way. At the moment I'm working on a live show that's a hybrid DJ / live set with visuals, and I’m really looking forward to taking that further.”
Galaxy Wolf In Space On: Games
“I have really fond memories of playing this game called Wing Commander on my Amiga 500 and listening to the Gladiators soundtrack which had Toto, and Bonnie Tyler on it. I'm now a really big fan of Patrick Cowley and the Hi NRG stuff, which I guess might come out of those days piloting my ship around the universe.
“I used to have this grey tape with what I think was Commodore 64 racing game music on it. I really wish I still had that as it was amazing. Also, Revenge of Shinobi (Megadrive) stands out as a game where I really noticed how good the music was.”
Galaxy Wolf In Space On: February’s Mix
“I find it a bit cringey when DJs mix their own music into a set although, saying that, I saw Four Tet do it at Boomtown and it was fine. For this mix I guess I was looking for music that either reference 8Bit music but updating it in some way (e.g. the DMX Krew track)
“There’s quite a bit of Outrun on there which I think is really reminiscent of late 80s, early 90s 16Bit console music. You can hear it on the Todd Terje and Mitch Murder tracks as well as that Tensnake track (Bliss) which is one of the most gorgeous pieces of music I've ever heard. That Den Haan track at the end felt like the ‘end of level boss’ - what a finish.”
Find Galaxy Wolf In Space on Instagram.
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