In the 60's the Neo-Romantic movement was most visible in the psychedelic and folk music subcultures... and the 80's of course this was new wave at large with even a new wave substyle called The New Romantics. In both era's it was about dreams of the past...
Today... as it goes... all is retro... but at least some people are taking elements from the past to built new foundations to create something new. In music today most is still just retro minded... but some artists have this glow of something partly new around them...
This year AGE released one tape and two 10 inches filled with European folk music elements which are blended in a superb way with electronics... of course this is not new... think Garmarna, Sorten Muld and many other who have done this before... BUT... AGE prepare this mixture of the old and the contemporary in a sort of alchemistic way to serve you a ritual trip... it is sweet, lovely, deeply touching... simply amazing and some of the best music released in 2012...
Here is one piece from the second 10 inch released on Zusammen Records...
Another artist that fits the label "Neo-Romantic" is Tobias Bernstrup... he released a new album this year... which is his third... and best to date... with each album you hear the growth... the music gets better and better and more and more the sound is becoming something new and truly original and totally just Tobias Bernstrup...
Tobias Bersntrup takes elements from italo disco, synth pop and elektro and molds this into a style of his own... and with great success... and the themes he addresses are neo romantic for sure... it is about the decay of this world and about the decadent way we are living... and in doing this is about dreams about a new tomorrow, about a new world, new humans... a new age...
And so is AGE... they are all about dreams about a new tomorrow... about a different world... the true Neo-Romantics of our time are not just retro minded but dreams about the future instead of the past...
Here is a track by Tobias Bernstrup from his last album which says it all... we have no time to die...
And here is a teaser for the upcoming new 12 inch EP by Tobias Bernstrup on Gooiland Elektro... coming spring 2013... Happy Yule!