Extra Terra - PROJEKT 2077

French producer PROJEKT 2077's career began in 2019 when they released "Alien Compilation". Though the dubstep album was not to my tastes whatsoever, there was no denying that Extra Terra had electronic skills under his belt. With his next single, ‘Exodus’, Extra Terra partnered with Retrology for further dubstep experiments. It wasn’t until the project released the single ‘Man or Machine’ featuring Megan McDuffee that his strict synthwave focus was born. The siren’s vocals combined with smooth electronic beats is a wonder to behold. In a short period of time Extra Terra began to exhibit maturity in his music. 

November of 2019 saw Extra Terra’s debut album “CONVERGENCE 2045” come to life. This sixteen-track beast continued Extra Terra’s ride into synthwave and dark synth music alike. He continued to home in on his cyberpunk and science fiction influences with songs such as ‘Ready Player Two’ paying homage to legendary works in the genre. Thereafter the project started to tease his new album with the first single ‘Nomad’. Obviously inspired by the upcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077, as nomads are a faction in the game, fans began to flock to Extra Terra with one even stating on the project’s Bandcamp “I’ll take synth over Dub any day!” The singles ‘Night City’ and ‘Corpo’ teased the album and, with that said, “PROJEKT 2077” was born. 

The album’s story begins with the cover art itself as neon lit signs advertise every business on the block while towering skyscrapers shooting beyond the borders of the art give the overwhelming presence of corporate greed and overpopulation. A flying car is stationed to the bottom right of the art, and I can only imagine that the person steering the vehicle is listening to the very album I am discussing right now. And, in the foreground, standing in the shadows with their fists clenched, is likely the protagonist of the album. I can only imagine that their goal throughout this ordeal is to kick ass and take revenge. 

This is not an album with style over substance however, as the music is just as brilliant as the theme and aesthetic. ‘X Æ A-12’, taking its name from the exotic title Elon Musk and Grimes’ bestowed upon their first child, is a wonderful, dark techno driven single which maintains a grim air. Beneath the soddy streets of Night City, something is brewing, and this is the song to the plot being unfolded. Another stand-out single would be ‘The Emperor of Mars’ which comes at the end of the album. Despite Extra Terra’s focus on danceable Cyberpunk beats for the future Dystopia, ‘The Emperor of Mars’ is a laid back, ambient and drone piece. I imagined myself staring upon the endless seas in one of Blade Runner 2049’s ending sequences and found myself in awe. 

Extra Terra also finds himself in good company on the album with two collaborations from fellow synthetic enthusiasts Lazerpunk and Beta Kitten. Lazerpunk’s collaboration on ‘Damage’ is something that you should expect from the artist; clean cut future beats though with a brighter, almost pop-ish undertone to it. Grim robotic vocals pop in every once in a while, sounding like a pissed off artificial intelligence which furthers the tension on the song. Beta Kitten’s collaboration on ‘Keygen’, however, is a song that’s lax and chilling in comparison with a touch of hopefulness. To Extra Terra, Lazerpunk, and Beta Kitten, I salute the three of you for providing me with such entertaining songs. 

There’s hardly a fault on “PROJEKT 2077” and there is not one song that I can point out that made me suggest anything remotely wrong with it. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the album and will likely come back to it in the future. And eight-and-a-half out of ten is a wonderful score for a wonderful album, and for those of you interested in science fiction, synthwave, and cyerpunk, “PROJEKT 2077” is your one stop shop for all three. I do hope to see Extra Terra’s music in physical format in the future but that is wishful thinking.