Adult Swim’s LORDS OF SYNTH Is Pure Synth-Powered ’80s Madness!
Yeah, I’m about 10 years late to this party, but some weird little gems are worth digging up. I somehow missed Adult Swim’s Live at the Necropolis: Lords of Synth when it arrived in 2016, and if you did too, this wonderfully ridiculous synth-fueled mockumentary deserves a spot on your watchlist.
The Adult Swim special imagines a vintage 1986 concert broadcast where three mysterious musical masters gather for the ultimate synthesizer showdown. Forget guitars, drums, or sensible competition rules. These people are fighting for the right to become the Lord of Synth.
Their challenge is appropriately insane. The musicians must provide a live score for the close approach of Halley’s Comet, with the winner earning the coveted title while the losers are banned from making music for 100 years.
Things get even crazier when their synthesizer performances begin interacting with the comet itself, turning an already absurd musical competition into a cosmic crisis.
The competitors are hilarious send-ups of some of electronic music’s biggest names. Xangelix is a reclusive musical genius modeled after Vangelis, while Morgio Zoroger is a hard-drinking, carefree madman inspired by Giorgio Moroder. Carla Wendos serves as the sonic trailblazer of the group and is modeled after Wendy Carlos.
Adding to the joke is Edgar Tanggram, one of the sports-style commentators covering the event with complete seriousness. His name is, of course, a nod to Tangerine Dream.
Written by comedy writers Scott Gairdner and Ryan Perez, Live at the Necropolis: Lords of Synth commits completely to its ridiculous concept.
It's presented like an authentic old-school concert broadcast crossed with a major sporting event, treating every synth solo and musical rivalry as though the fate of civilization hangs in the balance.
The title itself riffs on Yanni’s famous 1993 concert Live at the Acropolis, but the special digs much further into the wonderfully strange personalities, sounds, and visual style associated with the synthesizer scene of the era.
If you grew up listening to synth-heavy movie scores, love electronic music, or simply enjoy comedy that takes an absurd idea far more seriously than anyone reasonably should, Live at the Necropolis: Lords of Synth is absolutely worth checking out!
Ten years late? Sure. Synth supremacy, however, is timeless.