As children of the ‘80s it’s perfectly understandable to be disappointed with our current lack of everyday
hover cars and robotic servants; we grew up under the impression that by the year 2000 they would be
a given. Instead we get a repetition; the neon baggy t-shirt wearing wearing synth-pop infused 80s revival.

But, for Luke Rowell - aka Disasteradio - it’s not a revival because he never let go of it. The ideals,
technology and most importantly the music of the 1980s are as central to him now as they were then.
On his latest album ‘Visions’ Rowell has played out his childhood memories. Futuristic movies, TV shows
and computer games, The Cure, dreams of the future of technology, Devo and the idioms (like such
terms as ‘rad’ and ‘awesome’) all serve as inspirations.

Rowell, along with his computer, has been a staple in the indie scene in New Zealand with his tongue in
cheek “get your party on” synth-pop for the past four years and comes about regardless of the fairly
recent revival of new wave and synth pop. He does not set out to especially make songs about the ‘80s.
He just unpretentiously states “I really like synthesizer pop music and I’m kind of good at it.”

‘Visions’ was originally going to be an album based on the ‘80s concept of virtual reality, a concept
Rowell was obsessed with for a while, but he found he had actually “ended up writing TV themes,” so
television became a loose concept throughout the writing of ‘Visions’ .Some of these TV themes he has
in mind are “some sort of Quantum Leap style thing where the guys a track runner but he also got to
solve crimes, but he’s got like a robotic leg” for the track ‘Marathon.”

Aside from some wicked keyboard solos, ‘Visions’ -which is dominantly synth focused does feature
Rowell’s voice, such as ‘Digital Pop’ and ‘Awesome Feeling,’ for which Rowell likes to use- what he
attributes to Wellington band Cortina’s technique of mumbling over a song, then playing it back to pick
out words, where “you might get one word and it will be good. Its way easier than sitting down and
going -I’m going to write a song about this -its more flow of conscience, it feels totally natural.”

Perhaps in the future Rowell’s mash up of odes to 80s pop culture and future looking pop will be playing
the soundtrack to an ironic 2012 rendition of a 1980s Sega game- but transposed to the latest PS10.
You never know what the future holds. Either way to ensure you’re immediate future is a happy one.