Platronic - How To Ride The Wave
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With every release, Platronic – the German-Finnish duo composed of vocalist and lyricist Kay Burden and sound designer Sami Jumppanen – continues to solidify their place in the ever-evolving landscape of dark electronic music. Without rushing or forcing anything, they are steadily building their own world: thoughtful, emotionally grounded, and sonically intelligent.
Their new track "How to Ride a Wave", released on the Spring Equinox, feels like a perfect embodiment of their artistic DNA. It's a track that doesn't just pulse — it speaks. On the surface, it offers what many futurepop and dark synth fans crave: a crisp, club-friendly beat, layered synth textures, and an undeniably catchy melodic line. But under the sheen of 90s-inspired electronic elegance lies something far more interesting — a very personal, almost confessional exploration of resilience and inner strength.
Kay Burden’s vocals are, as always, both sharp and tender — never overplayed, never hollow. She inhabits the lyrics with emotional honesty, transforming what could have been a simple motivational anthem into something more nuanced. The lyrics aren’t afraid to expose the cracks: "Sometimes I want to give up / I am tired and so done" — it's raw, unfiltered, and real. But the power of the song lies not in ignoring that darkness, but in acknowledging it and choosing to move through it.
The chorus line, "Never let it get me down / but how do I ride the wave?", isn’t rhetorical — it’s a cry for clarity in a world that doesn’t offer easy answers. What follows is a kind of self-given advice, not in the form of abstract platitudes, but in grounded, actionable insight:
Do whatever feels so right / avoid what feels so wrong.
Listen to my intuition / turn my face into the sun.
The second verse reframes internal struggle as a space for questioning and survival. It's a brave act to turn anger and disappointment into music, and an even braver one to do it with such sincerity. And yet, there’s humour and lightness here too — "Be the jester, don’t be a fool!" — a line that feels like a wink in the mirror, not a scolding. Sami’s production underlines all of this with great sensitivity — he never overshadows the lyrical arc. His arrangement is layered yet breathable, leaving space for every emotional turn in Kay’s delivery. There’s a touch of nostalgia in the synth palette, but nothing retro for the sake of retro — it’s used deliberately, almost therapeutically, to echo the past while pushing forward. "How to Ride a Wave" is a song born from frustration, but what emerges is not bitterness — it’s a beautifully constructed act of defiance. Vulnerable, but not broken. Sharp, but not cold. It doesn’t pretend to solve everything — instead, it offers the strength to keep asking questions and the clarity to keep going anyway. And maybe that’s what we need most right now — not answers, but anthems for surviving the mess, together and honestly.
https://platronic.bandcamp.com/album/how-to-ride-the-wave
Their new track "How to Ride a Wave", released on the Spring Equinox, feels like a perfect embodiment of their artistic DNA. It's a track that doesn't just pulse — it speaks. On the surface, it offers what many futurepop and dark synth fans crave: a crisp, club-friendly beat, layered synth textures, and an undeniably catchy melodic line. But under the sheen of 90s-inspired electronic elegance lies something far more interesting — a very personal, almost confessional exploration of resilience and inner strength.
Kay Burden’s vocals are, as always, both sharp and tender — never overplayed, never hollow. She inhabits the lyrics with emotional honesty, transforming what could have been a simple motivational anthem into something more nuanced. The lyrics aren’t afraid to expose the cracks: "Sometimes I want to give up / I am tired and so done" — it's raw, unfiltered, and real. But the power of the song lies not in ignoring that darkness, but in acknowledging it and choosing to move through it.
The chorus line, "Never let it get me down / but how do I ride the wave?", isn’t rhetorical — it’s a cry for clarity in a world that doesn’t offer easy answers. What follows is a kind of self-given advice, not in the form of abstract platitudes, but in grounded, actionable insight:
Do whatever feels so right / avoid what feels so wrong.
Listen to my intuition / turn my face into the sun.
The second verse reframes internal struggle as a space for questioning and survival. It's a brave act to turn anger and disappointment into music, and an even braver one to do it with such sincerity. And yet, there’s humour and lightness here too — "Be the jester, don’t be a fool!" — a line that feels like a wink in the mirror, not a scolding. Sami’s production underlines all of this with great sensitivity — he never overshadows the lyrical arc. His arrangement is layered yet breathable, leaving space for every emotional turn in Kay’s delivery. There’s a touch of nostalgia in the synth palette, but nothing retro for the sake of retro — it’s used deliberately, almost therapeutically, to echo the past while pushing forward. "How to Ride a Wave" is a song born from frustration, but what emerges is not bitterness — it’s a beautifully constructed act of defiance. Vulnerable, but not broken. Sharp, but not cold. It doesn’t pretend to solve everything — instead, it offers the strength to keep asking questions and the clarity to keep going anyway. And maybe that’s what we need most right now — not answers, but anthems for surviving the mess, together and honestly.
https://platronic.bandcamp.com/album/how-to-ride-the-wave
