BIO

Formed in mid-2018 with a shared love of 80s synth-driven post-punk by Simon Kent (vocals & keyboards) and Jo Womar (keyboards), Magnetic Skies spent 18 months locked away in studios, experimenting with material that would evolve into songs released on a trilogy of EPs during 2020. “Dreams And Memories”, “Hold On” and “Into Paradise” all set the tone and showcased the duo’s skill and love of pulsing, vintage analogue synths and pumping bass. Pop Matters announced the band as giving “a striking aural experience whose retro sheen and gorgeous heartache will stay with you”, Neon Music described the “beautiful compositions and unforgettable, atmospheric journey”.

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Formed in mid-2018 with a shared love of 80s synth-driven post-punk by Simon Kent (vocals & keyboards) and Jo Womar (keyboards), Magnetic Skies spent 18 months locked away in studios, experimenting with material that would evolve into songs released on a trilogy of EPs during 2020. “Dreams And Memories”, “Hold On” and “Into Paradise” all set the tone and showcased the duo’s skill and love of pulsing, vintage analogue synths and pumping bass. Pop Matters announced the band as giving “a striking aural experience whose retro sheen and gorgeous heartache will stay with you”, Neon Music described the “beautiful compositions and unforgettable, atmospheric journey”.

Plans for a 2021 UK tour were scrapped as Covid emerged across the world as a pandemic, and Jo & Simon instead returned to the studio to write new material. The demos called for sonic elements outside of pure electronica and convinced them to expand the band into a 4-piece. As a result, guitarist Carlos Aguilar from Mexico and drummer Lenin Alegria from Chile were recruited to the band – both are now living in the UK as permanent band members.

Magnetic Skies released 3 singles in quick succession between November 2021 and March 2022, all of which featured the new full band line-up – “Not A Fire”, “Outside” and “I Opened Up My Eyes”. More fantastic reviews resulted, proclaiming Magnetic Skies as “lush and dreamy synthpop” (Synth Pop Fanatic), “supremely well-schooled in the history of cutting-edge pop and modern rock but also the very band to give it a sense of tomorrow” (XS Noise) – and all three songs were included on the BBC’s Fresh On The Net mixtapes. January 2022 saw one of the band’s new songs, “Fading Lights”, included on the globally-released compilation “Concrete And Chrome” released by Generation Blitz and featuring leading contemporary electronic artists influenced by the 80s Blitz Scene.

February, January and March 2022 saw the band play as tour support to Altered Images and Heaven 17 in the UK, receiving a fantastic reception every night, and playing to enthusiastic full crowds.

The band released “Fading Lights” as an official single in June 2022, and destroy//exist described the release as “eminently melodious vocals contrasted with ethereal synth backing, bringing to mind new wave’s vanguard, particularly from the eighties. A pulsating number, put together and executed to perfection”.

In July 2022 Magnetic Skies received a 2-page feature alongside artists including Tears For Fears, David Bowie, Depeche Mode and Soft Cell, in the latest copy of “Blitzed”, a print magazine distributed globally and celebrating electronic 80s influenced music. Mik Scarlett summed up the band’s songs as “music to dream by, to love by and to lose yourself in”.

Early-2022 had also seen 6 Music favourites The KVB offer to remix one of the band’s songs, and in September 2022 “The Last Time (The KVB Remix)” became the band’s fourth single release of the year. More acclaim from the press, destroy//exist now writing “once again making the most out of their eighties synthpop inspirations, always with a dark twist…dense synth-driven instrumentals, as the band further refine and refresh their sound, and also create a perfect creative pair alongside The KVB”.

By now the band had racked up more that 500 plays in 2022 on Amazing Radio in the UK and USA, as well as interviews and plays on numerous other online stations.

The band are continuing to work on their debut album, “Empire Falling”, set for release in 2023. The album will feature the band’s instinctively melodic vocals set against atmospheric synth backdrops, evocative of some of the 80’s defining pop bands, such as Depeche Mode, Japan and Tears For Fears. Meanwhile, Autumn 2022 brings a fifth single release, “Darker Night”, as well as live dates supporting Dead Lights in Southampton and ACTORS in London.

“music to dream by, to love by and to lose yourself in”

(Blitzed)

“a striking aural experience whose retro sheen and gorgeous heartache will stay with you”

(Pop Matters)

“a gem of a new EP with four widescreen tunes”

(The Rock Club)

“Magnetic Skies have immense potential”

(Whisperinandhollerin)
“will send shivers down your spine” “an epic sound”

(Neon Music) (Angry Baby)

Email: magneticskiesmusic@gmail.com Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: @magneticskies

WWW.MAGNETICSKIES.COM