REVIEW MARVA VON THEO’S “DREAM WITHIN A DREAM” LP

Another one brilliant act in through this international flourishing generation of synthetic voyagers is Marva Von Theo who landed their debut Dream Within A Dream LP lately. Athens-based singer-songwriter Marva and the Vienna-based composer-producer Theo where formed as MVT in 2016 following the tribe on the open synthwave speedway offering high-quality and often sophisticated synthesized music on exceptional sound. In these 12 songs, they masterful incorporate a variety of influences ranging from the 80’s electro-pop heritage to the wider darkwave and the neo-romantic deposit and are all arranged accordingly, from a bit minimal-electro approach to the larger synthwave sonic walls. Their writing skills are out of the question since they are both very well trained and “educated” in the musings they adore, wherein they dwell and breathe. Wonderful melodies all over the LP that are highlighted by analog, mostly, machines and paraphernalia, and lifted by the songstress’ limber voice who sung her stories in an exceptional musical trueness, retaining an inner tension that seduces the listener and drifts along in a sentimental, melancholic trip inside the personal stories that are concealed in the lyrics. 

Passionate performance by both members with a hint of experimentation and way ahead of only one specific genre, they offer to the listener the delight of multilateral amusement, from electronic down-tempo and ballad-wise tracks to the most up-tempo and “grey” sonic blows that are designed to blast you directly on the dancefloor. And I feel that there is a certain and an obvious interaction between all specific artists in these genres and their instruments manufacturers; they both work along likewise the planets’ affinity and traction, as the keyboards players constantly need new sounds and updated engines to help them adjust their ideas, like the manufacturers desperate need new music and sonic quests to get a taste of what is out there for them to research and build these dedicated models. MVT is in that edgy tribe which develops musical and artistic novelties and who are not afraid at all to blend their songs with various elements away from the old-school and the previous dogmas. At the end of the question they are so talented and open-minded musicians who, yes, they are the modern synthwave pioneers among a handful of others too who simply and so proudly release the one anthemic album after the other. Here is the whole Dream Within A Dream LP by Marva Von Theo where you may find your tunes and throw some love, listen loud please!

Written by Mike D.

photo by Periklis Liakakis

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