The show.
Dead Electric plays the sounds of past futures. Showcasing vintage synth, space, and new age music from the 70s and 80s, it’s a show that embraces the dreamy, driving, beautiful, haunting, and melodic side of when humans and machines meet to make music.
Shows typically begin more grounded and upbeat before gradually leaving the earth. In a given show, artists might include Tangerine Dream, Laurie Anderson, Giorgio Moroder, Vangelis, Kraftwerk, Clara Rockmore, Laraaji, Enya, Jonzun Crew, Klaus Schulze, and Michael Rother, and genres like synthpop, ambient, electro, 8-bit Nintendo soundtracks, German kosmische, Berlin School, and the occasional progressive rock song, assuming the host is in the mood for lyrics about wizards.
In addition, occasional guest curators will bring their expertise to the show. Past curators have included music critic Dave Segal, synth band Iroiro, and Blackpool Astronomy’s Jeff McCollough.
How to listen.
Dead Electric airs every Sunday night from 9pm-11pm on independent public radio station 90.7 KSER in Everett, Washington, and 89.9 KXIR on Whidbey Island. The station can also be heard in north Seattle and throughout Snohomish and Island counties. You can stream from anywhere around the world on KSER.org.
Past shows are available to listen to for two weeks after the initial show date. Go to KSER’s Spinitron page to listen.
About the host.
While my middle-school classmates listened to “Loser,” “Today,” “Dreams,” “Closer,” and other songs with one-word titles, I was listening to tracks with titles like “The Harp of the Ancient People with Songs of Venus and Space Children.” My lifelong pursuit of escapist synth bliss has led me down some beautiful and terrible pathways, and I’m excited to present the fruits of my labor.
I’m a lapsed musician who writes under the name Basic Astronomy, and have created soundtracks for major museum exhibits including Self-Reflected at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute and the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. I’m also a journalist whose work has appeared in the Utne Reader, City Arts, and the scientific journal Neurosurgery.
I live in Shoreline with my wife and two sons.
Reach out to me at deadelectricfm@gmail.com, and follow me on Instagram.