From Canada’s prairies comes Pieces, the latest album and single by the synthesized duo Synthetik Blonde and is available now.
Not unlike the relationship of creative masterminds, Stefani Michele Kleppe and Bradley Evanochko, Pieces is a white hot, back-arching, hypnotic movement of melody and beats. The album is an electrifying soundtrack to the nights you can’t remember, but won’t soon forget. A fusion of synth pop and guitar-driven rock, Synthetik Blonde hat tip to the 70s and 80s and rim the glass with modern flare. Pieces, and its title track, dare you to move, compel you to sway, and whisk you away into the tantalizing madness of symphonic bliss.
The match of Synthetik Blonde is one made of rock and roll fantasies. Stefani was brought up in a musical family and a multi-instrumentalist, model and teacher, while Bradley was lead guitarist in several past bands, in addition to being a long-time instructor with Long and McQuade. “On a fateful night,” recalls Stefani, “I pulled into a venue and watched Brad on stage. My body lurched in all the deepest places. I had found my muse, my partner and my best friend!” The duo was born.
Synthetik Blonde asks the listener to “break mirrors” on their sophomore release Pieces; an 8-track concept album that showcases Stefani’s exceptional songwriting and ability to delve into the depths of the human condition. The album, written solely from a female’s perspective, is a cheeky and empowering feminine finger-pointing at breaking free of societal norms. Layer by layer, each track is harnessed with an honest and fearless approach. The songs are a kaleidoscope of exploration; looking inward to the parts of oneself usually kept masked, and hidden. “The album is all about breaking down walls, and inspiring proud authenticity, self-love, self-acceptance,” Synthetik Blonde says.
Leading the LP is the title track, “Pieces”; a genre-bending turn for the duo. It’s a downtempo, guitar-driven pop song, giving the listener a six-plus minute foray into the emotional depth of its message and melody.
“I struggled most of my young adult life with severe depression, often resulting in poor choices and self-destructive relational patterns,” Stefani reveals, adding: “After years of being healthy and strong enough to end toxic relationships including an abusive marriage, I had a major relapse and wrote ‘Pieces’ during a deeply personal and challenging depressive episode during which I spent time reflecting upon my experiences.”
Going on to say she’d wanted to share something both positive and beautiful from her experience, Stefani also acknowledges that she hopes the song will empower and help someone. “I poured my heart and soul into writing ‘Pieces’,” she notes, saying: “it’s quite literally my life story.”
“I keep the guitar melodic and feeling to serve the emotion behind the song,” Brad continues. “I love a good, diminished arpeggio. Lonian, Mixolydian, Lydian and Aeolian, are the holy known guitar modes…this is where my heart, mind and fingers go. I play to bring depth to the lyrics and style of Stefani’s force.”
Together, the pair sum up “Pieces” as: “the shattering and the putting back together; stronger, fuller and ready.” The lead to an evocative and introspective album of finding light in the dark, and truth in the night; both the song and the album serve as an anthem of resilience, celebrating the process of learning to love oneself despite the jagged edges and shattered pieces.
“There was a time in my life when I was convinced by the voices of others and the voices inside my own mind that I wasn’t worthy of love, nor would I ever be,” Stefani shares, saying: “I know there are many who can relate.”
Leaving it all on the melody line, Synthetik Blonde offers Pieces to the masses, the muses, and the music lovers. The broken souls, the groove seekers, and the twilight dreamers. These are the Pieces. And Synthetik Blonde is serving them to us all.
