FM-84
OriginSan Francisco, California
GenresSynthwave
Years active2015–present
Members
  • Colin Bennett
  • Ollie Wride
Websitefm84.com

FM-84 is a synthwave band based San Francisco, California, formed in 2015 by Scottish producer Colin Bennett and later joined by English singer-songwriter Ollie Wride in 2018.[1]

History

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2015: The formation of FM-84 and Los Angeles EP

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FM-84 was created by Colin Bennett in 2015 due to his influences in 80s synthpop and movie soundtracks such as The Goonies, Back to the Future and Flight of the Navigator.[2]

In March 2015, Bennett released the EP Los Angeles.[3] The album title was taken from one of the tracks from EP Days of Thunder by The Midnight, which also became an inspirational to Bennett to write the album.[4][5] He wrote and produced all four tracks in three weeks, and bonus track, "Max" was written in 2014. Two tracks from the EP had been well-received and "everything just took off."[6] The EP reached 10th most popular Synthwave album on Bandcamp,[7] and ranked 8th in Top 15 EPs of 2015 by Vehlinggo.[8] He then released "Mainframe",[9] which has been described "a little darker and deeper than the Los Angeles EP."[10] It reached number-seven in NewRetroWave Weekly Top 10 chart.[11] "Neon Sunrise" was released in April 2015,[12] and reached number-six in NewRetroWave Weekly Top 10 chart.[13] It is "a powerful mixture of 80s pop and B-Boy beats", which has been described as "a plethora of uplifting and euphoric retro sounds."[14]

2016–2018: Atlas

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Bennett started working on his first studio album in 2015.[15] Later that month, he released "Let's Talk" featuring Josh Dally.[16] It is a remix version of Timecop1983 track from Reflections, which later had been remastered.[17] In September of that year, Bennett released "Tears" to SoundCloud. The track was inspired by Scott Hansen, M83, Tears for Fears and Tangerine Dream.[18] "Jupiter" was released on SoundCloud on January 2016.[19] In February 2016, he released "Everything" as the last preview from the debut album, along with the announcement date of the album.[20] In March 2016, Bennett was working on the last track for the album.[21]

Discography

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  • Los Angeles EP (2015)
  • Atlas (2016)

References

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  1. ^ "Who is FM-84? Interviews, Reviews, Streams Are All Here". Vehlinggo.
  2. ^ "FM-84: Where Have You Been All Our Lives?". Vehlinggo. March 23, 2015.
  3. ^ "Los Angeles EP". FM-84.
  4. ^ @fm84 (August 22, 2015). "@themidnightla Nope. Your album inspired me to create FM-84 in March this year. It was all you. My Los Angeles EP is named after your song" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ @fm84 (June 21, 2015). "@timmcewan @tylerlyle A huge thank you for writing the Days of Thunder EP. It single handedly inspired me to write my debut Los Angeles EP" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "FM-84: Where Have You Been All Our Lives?". Vehlinggo. March 23, 2015.
  7. ^ @fm84 (April 7, 2015). "Wow. My Los Angeles EP is the 10th most popular #synthwave album on Bandcamp at the moment" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Top 15 EPs of 2015". Vehlinggo. December 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "Mainframe by FM-84". SoundCloud.
  10. ^ "FM-84: Where Have You Been All Our Lives?". Vehlinggo. March 23, 2015.
  11. ^ @fm84 (March 30, 2015). "Holy moly. Mainframe makes the @NewRetroWave chart this week at No.7" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "Neon Sunrise by FM-84". SoundCloud.
  13. ^ @fm84 (April 20, 2015). "Wow! Neon Sunrise is a new entry at No.6 in this weeks @NewRetroWave play chart" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "[Audio] FM-84's 'Neon Sunrise'". electronic rumors. April 20, 2015.
  15. ^ @fm84 (July 6, 2015). "Refreshed and inspired after my Alaska vacation. Can't wait to continue work on the album this weekend" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ "Timecop1983 - Let's Talk (feat. Josh Dally) [FM-84 Remix]". Youtube. July 24, 2015.
  17. ^ @fm84 (August 15, 2015). "Uploaded a remastered version of my @Timecop1983 remix. Existing purchasers can download the new version from their original purchase link" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ @fm84 (September 23, 2015). "@ISO50 Hi Scott. You might like my new track, Tears. Inspired by yourself, M83, Tears for Fears and Tangerine Dream. https://soundcloud.com/fm84/tears" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ @fm84 (January 22, 2016). "The evolution of FM-84 continues with JUPITER. I hope you'll join me on the journey… https://soundcloud.com/fm84/jupiter #cinewave" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  20. ^ @fm84 (February 27, 2016). "The last preview of my brand new EP. Coming April 2016. This is 'Everything'. https://soundcloud.com/fm84/everything #synthwave" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ @fm84 (March 24, 2016). "Flying to LA this weekend to record vocals with an incredible singer/songwriter for the last track on the album. So excited" (Tweet) – via Twitter.