When we reviewed the 4th volume of Generation Blitz recently, I had my curiosity piqued by the French-Anglo duo Scenius. They not only took their name from a Brian Eno concept, but their finely etched Synthpop featured distinctive bilingual vocals courtesy of Fabrice Nau over a warm music bed that offered drama and methodical pacing that pulled me into the song and had me ready for more. As it turns out, we didn’t have to wait long! The duo’s new single is “Beat The Light” and will be released to streaming and Bandcamp tomorrow.
As I’ve looked into the band, I saw that they are kindred spirits to the PPM ethos. They prefer analog synths and physical drum machines instead of virtual instruments. They also eschew the nailed down quantization of assembling the track to “the grid” in their DAW. They take care to play some of their leads on their songs by hand to avoid that dead, airless sound of sheer digital perfection. Just because you can do something isn’t a reason why one should.
Scenius: Beat The Light – EU – DL [2025]
- Beat The Light 4:36
A phased slow tempo Bossa Nova rhythm with a melancholy piano in dub playing over it sets the stage for the song. A lead synth laden with watery vibrato prepares us for the appearance of vocalist Fabrice Nau who sings in English here as his voice becomes the lead melody in the languid, dreamlike tune.
The clarity of the arrangement makes for a pleasing, subdued, late-night vibe. And the solo in the middle eight features a synth patch that effectively conjures up a vibrato electric organ from 1968 touched with a hint of dub and wah-wah. It makes for a very fluid, ethereal track that invites us into the warm, Mediterranean waters of sound that “Beat The Light” offers. As the player below reveals.
The release of “Beat The Light” happens tomorrow with sales on Bandcamp and streaming at the usual places. The Bandcamp DL is €1.50 and given that this is the second single from them in two months, perhaps it points to a full album of their introverted, electronic charm will be here soon. But why should we wait for pleasure? DJs hit that button!
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Post-Punk Monk 
Excellent recommendation, I’m currently working my way backwards through their discography on Bandcamp, starting with the “singles”. Have you heard their version of “I Want More”? It’s pretty decent, and now secondhandsongs informs me that Blancmange already covered it in 2015. Rabbithole, here I fall…
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strange_idol – Are there ANY bad versions of “I Want More?”
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I doubt it, but I have yet to hear a few more. Which ones come to your mind?
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strange_idol – I actually heard the song first via Scotland’s Fini Tribe.
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I knew the Can recording first, but then I’m German so no surprise there. I didn’t know the Fini Tribe cover, it’s quite solid, and a friend in Germany really liked it. I have listened to the other covers I found on secondhandsongs, João Orecchia’s version is quite different and modern (you can find it on Bandcamp), while Saturn’s Ambush (only on YT, sorry) turn the song into some kind of sparse dubby psychedelia. Scenius, Blancmange, and also Fini Tribe stay closer to the original.
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I love the Can original, but I looked up the Scenius version, and I quite liked that version as well.
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What surprised me a little is that Scenius and Blancmange both stayed close to the original’s vocal style (no surprise that Fini Tribe did), I could well imagine a synth pop version with more conventional vocals.
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strange_idol – The original vocal is very idiosyncratic and what the point of “synth pop with more conventional vocals?”
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A pleasant tune. Not sure it’s something I need to possess, but a very enoyable listen.
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“a pleasing, subdued, late-night vibe”
NAILED IT, O Monk! :)
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