Dream System 8
DREAM SYSTEM 8 | “I’M SURE OF THIS ENDING FOR US” SINGLE | MINTY FRESH | AUG. 7TH, 2020
BIO (2020):
Sometimes they say, “This song is so cinematic, it must have been written for a movie,” but does anyone say, “This song is so cinematic, it must have a movie written for it?”
The question gets meta when considering the music of Los Angeles-based duo Dream System 8. The man commanding the enviable collection of vintage synths and drum machines is Emmy® winner, David Klotz, who is joined by Erica Elektra, mother of magical vocal melodies.
Klotz works as Music Editor for many television shows, including “Stranger Things,” for which he upped his game in last season’s finale; His recording of a version of Limahl’s power ballad theme song to the 1984 fantasy epic “The Never Ending Story” promptly took a nostalgia hungry internet by storm. You can hear how the era-specific sound of the show is close to Klotz’s heart and fingers.
The new Dream System 8 song “I’m Sure Of This Ending For Us” (Aug. 7th, Minty Fresh) is the one legit waiting for an erstwhile screenwriter to bang out the story of a couple that you’ll grow attached to in less than three minutes flat.
When you hear Elektra sings these lines, you’ll know.
Two pairs of eyes
Looked at the stars
And dreamed of love again
But, to all you young lovers:
Those skies are cold
Helpless astronauts
Drifting to the sun
“I’m sure of this ending for us”
You said
“I remember the first time I heard the song,” Elektra says. “Dave made a version with live drums and lots of guitar, a very different production than our usual material. I absolutely loved the simple structure and thought it had the most beautiful melody, so I kept telling him, ‘We need to make a Dream System 8 version of this song! I feel like it took some convincing, he didn’t seem to understand how beautiful it was.”
Elektra won out and also added a few lyrics of her own to round the melody she loved so much.
In case it’s not apparent, “I’m Sure Of This Ending For Us” is a break-up song, and Klotz is pretty open to the notion that maybe one-half of the couple is him. Well, not maybe: It’s him, and it’s been him before.
“I already had quite the catalog of break-up songs in my repertoire, but, alas, here we go again!”
It’s okay to wince a little at that exclamation, as Klotz is masterful at turning the pain into art.
“At the time I felt like, ‘Well, this is just what I’m meant to write about, I suppose, and because I’d touched on the subject of heartbreak before, I thought I should attempt something a little more transcendental.”
Klotz decided to try and write the break-up song to end all break-up songs and he may have succeeded.
“The title was actually something said to me by my girlfriend when our relationship was ending, and even though it was painful, I recognized that it was a beautifully simple way to convey the sentiment.”
Ultimately, the song was therapeutic for Klotz, which was a new thing for him.
“I’ve never found songwriting to work like that for me before. But, here I was, hoping this would make me feel better.”
It worked so well, that he hoped to be able to just shelve the song and move on. Naturally, it reminded him of a bad time, so what was the point? Thanks to Elektra, who managed to get him to play her the original demo, we know.
“It reminds me of dark times, so it’s probably fitting to revisit the song now,” Klotz says, “It’s certainly not the feel-good-song of the Summer and that seems like the right idea at the moment.”
Still, Elektra’s vocal elevates it to what feels like an optimistic ending. Ultimately, you’re pulling for these two to make it!
She says simply: “I think it’s one of my favorites.”
The End.
“I’m Sure Of This Ending For Us,” the latest single by Dream System 8 is out Aug. 7th on Minty Fresh.
BIO (2019):
Dream System 8 is a synth-based pop duo out of Los Angeles that combines the talents of veteran musicians Erica Elektra and David Klotz. The band will follow up its debut album We Sleep Again (Minty Fresh, 2018) with a new single “I Like The Way That You Hold Me” on Nov. 1st.
Recording with synths and gear dating to the early 1980’s – a large assortment of Rolands, Korgs, and Yamahas, the Crumar Performer, LinnDrum LM-2, and Omnichord System 100 – Dream System 8’s sound emerges from these origins of artifice with natural-sounding pop songs inspired by Vangelis, The Human League, Tangerine Dream, and Duran Duran.
“I hit stop while we were recording and saying ‘Wait a second, is this a love song? Did we just write our first love song?,” Klotz remembers about the session for “I Like The Way That You Hold Me”.
“Our album We Sleep Again is filled with songs about break-ups, loss and grief, so this new song is a welcome departure. When Erica and I met each other years ago, we were both in a post-break-up fog and the album we made was reflective of that. But in the last year, Erica and I both met new partners and now we’re both happier and in better places in our lives.”
With that, Klotz and Elektra agreed to try something different.
“I came across an old Pro Tools session, something I started years ago,” Klotz says. “I didn’t think there was much of a space for a vocal, but Erica thought otherwise. We fleshed it out, but after laboring over it, I finally suggested that we start fresh on a new idea. Erica continued to insist that it could still be a song, and a week later she called me and said, ‘I have lyrics!’”
“It’s just the ultimate love song about meeting someone and knowing immediately that they are the one and how good it feels when someone is finally treating you the way you’ve always wanted to be treated,” Elektra says.
Those feelings are crystal clear in Elektra’s performance.
“I put up a mic, played the track, and she sang the whole song in one take,” Klotz explains. “I hit record and I was absolutely beside myself. Her melody was so inspiring. It elevated the song to an entirely new level and I’m not even talking about the lyrics, but the vocal melody on its own! I loved it so much.”
“Erica and I have worked together for three years now and I’m constantly surprised and amazed at our collaboration. If it were up to me alone, this song would never have seen the light of day. I’m glad Erica saw something in my little demo!”
“I Like The Way That You Hold Me,” the latest single by Dream System 8 is out Nov. 1st, 2019 via Minty Fresh. The band’s debut album We Sleep Again is available everywhere now.
Bio (2018):
Dream System 8 is a newly-formed, synth-based pop duo out of Los Angeles that combines the talents of veteran musicians Erica Elektra and David Klotz.
The vintage instruments used on the band’s debut album We Sleep Again (Feb. 23rd, Minty Fresh) are veterans, too, and include a large assortment of Rolands, Korgs, and Yamahas, along with the (attention, geeks!) Crumar Performer, LinnDrum LM-2, and Omnichord System 100.
Recording with synths from the early 1980’s, Dream System 8’s debut emerges from these origins of artifice with natural-sounding pop songs inspired by Vangelis, The Human League, Tangerine Dream, and Duran Duran.
Not only is the musical partnership of the humans in Dream System 8 new, so is the relationship to the band’s large brood of keys. Klotz, whose day job has earned him numerous Emmy® awards as the Music Editor of television shows such as “Stranger Things,” “Game of Thrones,” and “American Horror Story” among others, started acquiring the gear in 2015.
“I was inspired when I started working on ‘Stranger Things’ in 2015 and first heard the score,” Klotz recalls. “I loved the sounds that the show’s composers created with synths. It was unlike anything I’d heard before in the world of film scoring.”
Klotz, who has been making records under various band names for years, starting in the mid-90’s as Fonda and most recently in 2016 as People and Stars, began plotting to make a record of pop songs based around the sound of these keyboards.
His first stop was eBay.
The first three synths Klotz bought are the main instruments heard on “Losing All of You,” the debut single by Dream System 8, out now.
At this point in the story, Dream System 8 might be conjuring images of a Nick Rhodes-ian utopia where racks of gear stretch to the sky, surrounding an isolated man who looks absolutely perfect in an expensive linen suit and make-up.
But just in time, Elektra’s lyrics and vocals take these tunes out of the atmosphere and ground them in feeling – heart-tugging and delivered with emotion – exposing the roots beneath these musical landscapes.
“I grew up in a musical household, my Mom is a piano teacher and songwriter,” she says. “I’ve always loved songs with good melodies and classic chord progressions, but I’ve been held back by the technical aspects of music making.”
And then a Tinder match with Klotz yielded a band instead of a romance. Moreover, it gave Elektra the opportunity to make the greatest use of her strengths as a songwriter and vocalist.
“We’re both single parents, both musicians, and both live in Pasadena, so I thought we might still have a bit of a connection,” Klotz says. “It was a short date but at the end of it we decided to meet up again to collaborate on music.”
Emotional maturity in the age of app-based dating is hard to come by, but when it happens, great music is the result.
“I honestly thought I’d never hear from her again, but she reached out,” Klotz continues. “I played her my demo of ‘Losing All of You,’ and she picked up an acoustic guitar and performed ‘I Think of You.’ It was beautiful.”
That song, “I Think of You,” written as a lullaby to Elektra’s then six-month-old daughter, is now one of the album’s highlights. Additional emotionally moving moments on We Sleep Again include “Dedication,” written about Elektra’s father’s struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease, and “Help Me See” about a love interest of Elektra’s who passed before his time.
Heavy topics, not typically associated with a genre where any remotely electronic-based music is suddenly Electronic Dance Music. Here, Dream System 8 succeeds mightily at memorably combining and sustaining these seemingly disassociated sonic worlds over the course of an entire album.
“Dream System 8 is the perfect name for us,” Elektra concludes. “For me, it’s literally a musical dream come true.”
We Sleep Again, the debut album by Los Angeles-based duo Dream System 8 arrives on Feb. 23rd, 2018 preceded by the single “Losing All of You,” out now.
NEWS:
PRESS QUOTES:
“Dream System 8, the collaborative creation of David Klotz and Erica Elektra, has shared another glimpse into their dreamy, electronica wonderland with new single ‘I Like The Way That You Hold Me.’”
“On the buoyant love song ‘I Like The Way That You Hold Me,’ Klotz and Elektra give us their best work yet. The cut is rife with layers of catchy melodies, engaging rhythms, and meaningful lyrics.”
“Touches on a nostalgic, shared love for ‘80s synth pop that evokes a dreamlike wonder.”
“Beautiful dream pop.”
“Coaxes beguiling textures from their array of 80s era keyboards.”
“The pair are bringing back all the nostalgia.”
“Unabashedly starry-eyed.”
“Dreamy.”
“Los Angeles pop duo Erica Elektra and David Klotz are Dream System 8 who create universes made from the dreamiest stockpile of synthesizers imaginable.”
“Jam packed with vintage synth tones; Ethereal female vocals.”
“They develop a euphoric electronic awareness, a sense of emotional connectedness that lays its roots deep.”
PRESS RELEASES:
ON THE WEB:
Assets:
Dream System 8 (L-R): David Klotz, Erica Elektra. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman. Click for hi-res.
Dream System 8 (L-R): David Klotz, Erica Elektra. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman. Click for hi-res.
Dream System 8 (L-R): Erica Elektra, David Klotz. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman. Click for hi-res.
Dream System 8 (L-R): David Klotz, Erica Elektra. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman. Click for hi-res.
Dream System 8 (L-R): David Klotz, Erica Elektra. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman. Click for hi-res.
Dream System 8 (L-R): David Klotz, Erica Elektra. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman. Click for hi-res.
"I’m Sure Of This Ending For Us" single cover art. Click for hi-res
"I Like The Way That You Hold Me" single cover art. Click for hi-res.
We Sleep Again cover art. Click for hi-res.
"It's All Happening" single cover art. Click for hi-res.
"Shine A Little Light" single cover art. Click for hi-res.
"Losing All of You" single cover art. Click for hi-res.