It is high noon and the most wanted man in the country is on the run for crimes unspecified. All he wants to do is see his love one last time. Sounds like a story straight out of a Hollywood script right? Well, this is a different kind of love story. Not quite out of Hollywood but the world should be paying attention. This is the new single and video from synth-pop virtuoso Kid Kasio and Ricardo Autobahn, called “Blood Red Sky”.
The song began as Ricardo had a back catalog of instrumentals that he sent to Kasio via email (yes, the two have never met!). One in particular caught his ear a piece called “Oberheim Expander”, the name of one of Kasio’s favorite synths!
Normally, this is the part where I would tell you what the song sounds and feels like. This time, I’ll let Kid Kasio do the talking, because his description is exactly what I hear. Kasio said of the song: “It had this amazing piano riff that reminded me of early 90s Italo-house, and this Nile Rogers style guitar riff. The moment I heard it the Ricardo’s backing the song just fell out fully formed! I don’t think a song has ever come to me so quickly and so easily.”
Kasio says of the inspiration: “The songs about someone evading capture, I think there was something in the piano riff that reminded me a bit of Christopher Cross’s “Ride like the Wind” and I guess that was my inspiration lyrically. It’s about being on the run and being apart from the people you love.”
With the video. The imagery matches up perfectly with the song. It’s as if it came straight out of a “Catch Me If You Can” meets “Tombstone” style film. Through the hills of Girona, Spain you have Kid Kasio always looking back running from the law, this giving the video an immersive emotion that feels quite cinematic. It feels like a cross between fear of being captured and determination to reach your love one last time. From a graphic standpoint, I am absolutely in love with the superimposing of the video on the map to give the illusion of where he is and where he has been. The only downside about the video, I find myself a tad homesick with the Wild West intro.
Overall, I have been gushing over the revival of synth-pop that Kid Kasio has been working on for years. From his debut solo work Kasiotone to “Blood Red Sky,” every bit of Kid Kasio is a revival of what made the 80s completely awesome.
Kid Kasio On The Web:
www.kidkasio.com | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | YouTube | iTunes
Ricardo Autobahn On The Web:
www.ricardoautobahn.co.uk | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | iTunes
