Dark Smoke Signal

Dark Smoke Signal is synthwave artist and producer Alex Pope from the new music hotbed of Bristol, UK.

Alex started playing guitar from the age of 10, performing in various rock and metal bands with laughable monikers throughout the 90s and noughties. After graduating from Bristol with a degree in Audio Engineering, he started producing and mixing local artists which gave him the taste to produce his own material.

Discovering synthesizers proved a turning point and the obsessive nerd in Alex moved from 6 strings to keys, filters and envelopes. The neon world of Synthwave and artists such as Kavinsky, Gunship, Carpenter Brut and The Midnight provided the perfect genre and inspiration…the rest is history.

As an 80s child, Dark Smoke Signal is heavily influenced by pop culture from this era and this shows in his music. His well-received debut track for www.youthmusic.org.uk, ‘The Big Stage’ was released in summer 2018. Three follow up singles display some of the broad range of influences on his sound; ‘ED-209’ takes a Darksynth turn with its Dystopian theme; ‘Thunder Road’ is a throbbing ball of energy flambéed in 80’s hair metal guitar. His epic, award-winning synthwave story, ‘December Rose’ was featured on the New Retro Wave channel and won ‘Best Single’ in the inaugural Forever Synth awards for 2019.

Flickering in the shadows between the genres of Synthwave and Darksynth, songs are a mix of vocal and instrumental styles retaining a melodic edge the hook the listener in.

With extensive international radio airplay across some of Electronica’s highly rated programme’s and first solo shows under his belt, it’s been a promising first few months. Dark Smoke Signal has been featured on some of Synthwave’s most notable sites and blogs: Synthzone, Synth Heaven, Komputa Krush, Brash Magazine and Synth Redneck to name a few. His music has also been licenced out in promotional material for ‘The Swamp Thing’ Monster Truck.

In early 2019, Forever Synth presenter Joe Ward nudged a track in front of the guys at Retro Reverb Records and it transpired to be the perfect union. Dark Smoke Signal and RRR are now working together on his debut full length release out later this year which is sure to see him explode further out of the burgeoning retro-future music scene.

DSS incorporates live synth, sampling, guitar and vocals into his energetic shows that have got followers of the scene talking. This last year has seen him perform at the Retro Reverb Rhythms launch party and also earn support slots opening for the likes of Lebrock, Absolute Valentine and Lazerpunk.