The New York City based darkwave and synthpop duo The Mystic Underground have released their new digital single “Drowning” today, 27 February 2026 via Re:Mission Entertainment. The track follows the lead single “Darkness Hides At Dawn” and the full-length album “So Close, So Far“, released in January 2026 as the band’s sixth studio album.

The “Drowning” single arrives as a standalone release pairing the album version with a longer club-oriented mix. Thematically the single focuses on emotional dependency and fractured relationships.

Frontman Vladimir Valette describes the song as “a reminder that even the best intentions can lead you down a path where it’s difficult to tell the hero apart from the villain in a story,” adding that this tension “is even more apparent when it comes to affairs of the heart.”

About The Mystic Underground

The Mystic Underground are a darkwave and synthpop duo based in New York City, formed by singer-lyricist Vladimir Valette and keyboardist-producer Benedetto Socci. The project launched in the early 2000s with the EP “The Wanderers” in 2002, followed by the full-length “The Nameless And The Faceless” offering a sound that mixes classic alternative and synthpop influences.

Through the 2010s the duo refined their style across releases such as the album “Protagonist” in 2016 and the 2020 record “Wrapped In Riddles” (which we premiered on Side-Line). In 2022 the band dropped the single and video “Digital” ahead of the 2023 album “Everyone Deserves A Stage” via Re:Mission Entertainment.

In 2024 they released the single “The Lonely Ones” which later received a remix from German act Beborn Beton, followed by the singles “Famous Last Words (Of A Generation)” and the two-track single “In A Darkened Room“.

In 2026 came “So Close, So Far” followed by the single “Drowning”.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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New York City darkwave and synthpop duo The Mystic Underground have released their new album “So Close, So Far” via Re:Mission Entertainment. The record is the sixth full-length studio album from singer/lyricist Vladimir Valette and keyboardist/producer Benedetto Socci and their second album for the Oklahoma City label following 2023’s “Everyone Deserves A Stage“.

With The Mystic Underground “So Close So Far” album, the duo present an 11-track set that continues their focus on dance-floor-oriented synthpop.

“So Close, So Far” is available in digital form and as a 6-panel CD digipak limited to 100 copies worldwide, available directly from Re:Mission Entertainment. Digital buyers receive the full 11-track album, while the physical edition combines the album with a deluxe package design; both formats include a download in standard lossless and lossy formats. A “Life…Set To A Dance Beat 26” T-shirt is offered as a separate pre-order item.

The album was written, produced and mixed by The Mystic Underground themselves, with mastering handled by Jon Craig at Courthouse Sound in Manchester, England.

Valette and Socci say that the record is a response to personal and collective upheaval: “This is a record we feel very passionate about. A collection of songs that truly cut to the heart of what we are about as a band and how the world has shaped us both collectively and individually. It’s a call to arms to those who cherish life with an unquenchable thirst for romance as a respite from the desolation and tumult of the everyday.”

Included is also the lead track “Darkness Hides At Dawn” which was already released in 2025. “Darkness Hides At Dawn” first appeared as a two-track digital single on 3 October 2025, including an extended dance mix of the title track. The accompanying video, filmed by long-time collaborator William Murray, premiered in October 2025.

About The Mystic Underground

From the heart of New York City’s dark electronic scene, The Mystic Underground is the duo of singer-lyricist Vladimir Valette and keyboardist-producer Benedetto Socci. Musically the project is a blend of dance music, new wave and post-punk.

The project’s roots extend back to the early 2000s, with early releases including “The Wanderers” (2002) and the album “The Nameless And The Faceless” (2004). The EP “Gender Rules” appeared in 2013, followed by the single “Carry On, Young Men” in 2014 and “Laughter Turns To Tears” in 2015. These releases led to the 2016 album “Protagonist”, issued on Stereosonic Recordings.

After “Protagonist”, the duo continued to refine their approach with the standalone single “Athletes” in 2018 and the EP “Simple Minds, Simple Pleasures” in 2019, which included the single and video “Tempted By The Sounds Of Violence”. In November 2020 they released the album “Wrapped In Riddles”, available on CD and digital formats.

Singles from the “Wrapped In Riddles” era, including “The Fixer”, “Bushwick Boys, East Village Girls” and “A Certain Chemistry”, were supported with official videos.

In 2022 The Mystic Underground released the single “Peter”, including a remix by The Kolour Kult, and later in the year issued “Digital”. Both tracks marked the transition to Re:Mission Entertainment, with the band formally joining the label’s roster in December 2022.

On 12 May 2023 they delivered the full-length album “Everyone Deserves A Stage” through Re:Mission Entertainment, available as a digital release and a limited digipak CD edition of 100 copies. The CD version adds three bonus tracks – “Peter”, “Digital” and the exclusive “Optimistic” – alongside core album tracks such as “A Spanner In The Works”, “The Backlash Comes”, “The Lonely Ones” and “Famous Last Words (Of A Generation)”.

“The Lonely Ones” was introduced as the album’s first single in April 2023, followed later that year by “Famous Last Words (Of A Generation)” with remixes by Ghost Cop and Halovox. Additional remix activity in this phase included Maduro’s rework of “The Backlash Comes”.

In 2024 the duo continued with the single “In A Darkened Room”, accompanied by remixes such as the Jeremy Bastard remix dub, and the expanded single “A Very Shady Character”. They also appeared on Re:Mission’s annual label compilation series, placing tracks from the album cycle alongside labelmates on the 2023, 2024 and 2025 editions.

Ahead of “So Close, So Far”, 2025 saw the release of “Remember Me (Reimagined)”, a new studio version of the closing track from “Protagonist”, and the single “Darkness Hides At Dawn”, which acted as the flagship song for the new album.

Throughout this period, The Mystic Underground have remained a live act as well as a studio project, with performances at events such as Absolution Fest in Tampa and Out From The Shadows in Portland and regular appearances at New York venues.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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The US-based synth pop act The Mystic Underground have a brand new video out today, for the two track single “In A Darkened Room” which comes back by the / “In A Darkened Room (Jeremy Bastard Dub Mix)”. The single and video are out now via Re:Mission Entertainment.

The band’s songwriter Vladimir Valette explains the track as follows: “It’s hard to think about what songs are truly about when you write them but in the case of ‘In A Darkened Room’, it’s meant to describe the longing for belonging. The sense of feeling at home at night where anonymity is king and you can be anything you want to be.”

Here’s the video for “In A Darkened Room”

You can download the 2-track right now from Bandcamp.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Ex-Hyena, Bo Barringer and Reuben Bettsak, have just released the video for the “Spiral Down (Moris Blak Remix)” track which is taken from the duo’s recent single “Spiral Down”. “Spiral Down” is the second single from the forthcoming 3rd Ex-Hyena album, “A Kiss of the Mind” which will be out on Re:Mission Entertainment.

Ex-Hyena was formed in 2020, and since then released two albums (2021’s “Artificial Pulse” and 2022’s “Moon Reflections”), a remix album (2023’s “Moon Reflections Remixed”), and several singles and EPs. The duo also collaborated with Control I’m Here, Hororhaus, BlakLight, Pleasure Policy, Jackson VanHorn, Denial Waits, Blood Handsome, The Mystic Underground, Maduro, and others.

You can check out the new video below.

And here’s the single on Bandcamp.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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The Oklahoma City-based record label Re:Mission Entertainment is a regular visitor in our news section with their roster of bands.

Out via Bandcamp as a free download (and on a very limited edition CD as well), is “2023 Label Compilation”, holding 23 tracks including material from Dead Voices On Air, The Mystic Underground, Ex-Hyena, Sidewalks And Skeletons, Dread Risks, Suffer Ring, Miss Trezz, Warm Gadget, Kota Kira, BARA HARI, :Waijdan:, Archon Of The Fairlight, Maduro, SINE, Emergency Sequence, Black Agent, Drenched In Fire, Shhadows, Reign Of Roses, SORROWS, Snowbeasts, Dracula Party, and Dedalos.

Re:Mission Entertainment is looking forwards to an abundant release schedule coming 2024: “Confirmed 2024 releases include albums or EPs by the likes of Ex-Hyena, SINE, Reign Of Roses, Fact Pattern, Left Spine Down, RaizdByWolvz, Dread Risks, Sidewalks And Skeletons, Archon Of The Fairlight, SØLVE, Warm Gadget and more. We will also release a brand-new series of compilations simply titled “RE:MX” which will focus on collaborative remixes between fellow label mates and friends.”

You can download the album below from Bandcamp or get the release on CD (only 100 copies).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Out now is the all new The Mystic Underground video and remix single “Famous Last Words (Of A Generation)”. The track was written by the Brooklyn-based synthpop duo Vladimir Valette and Benedetto Socci.

Vladimir Valette explains the meaning of the song as follows: “The song is a bit of a lament about the passing of time and the rites of passage that we all experience at the expense of the spirit and fervor we tend to leave behind. I suppose it also touches on the inevitable generation gap where the next generation looks at the prior one as a bit of disappointment for leaving their ideals behind. So as you can tell, the song is definitely intended to be a candidate as the song of the summer…in Autumn.”

This is the video for the track.

This The Mystic Underground remix single holds 3 tracks, and apart from the single edit you will find a GHOST COP remix and a halovox remix. You can check it out below on Bandcamp.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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The new album by The Mystic Underground, “Everyone Deserves A Stage”, is out now via the fine label Re:Mission Entertainment.

The ten song strong synthpop release features the lead single “The Lonely Ones” and is available on digital and limited edition compact disc. The latter includes the band’s recently released singles “Peter” and “Digital” as well as an exclusive bonus track entitled “Optimistic”.

On this new album the Brooklyn-based synthpop duo (musician Benedetto Socci & singer Vladimir Valette) fuses their love of Britpop, dance and industrial. The new full length is the follow-up to the pair’s last album, 2020’s “Wrapped In Riddles”.

You can check out this new release right below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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The US based synthpop act The Mystic Underground is back with an all new 2-track single, “The Lonely Ones” including a Beborn Beton remix. The single is out via Re:Mission Entertainment and is a teaser for the band’s upcoming album “Everyone Deserves A Stage”.

The music video for the track is available below.

Here’s what the band says about the single: “‘The Lonely Ones’ manifested from a desire to create the perfect pop moment. Lyrically, the song acts as a love letter to the rebels and the dreamers and the unwavering spirit of romance and the thrill of youth. Backed by a remix produced by German dark electronic pop icons Beborn Beton who’ve long have been an influence on our sound, ‘The Lonely Ones’ serves as a perfect harbinger of the evolution of The Mystic Underground in the form of the forthcoming LP, ‘Everyone Deserves A Stage’.”

You can download the 2-track single right now from Bandcamp.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Oklahoma City based fine darkwave label Re:Mission Entertainment has released a name-your-price label compilation with all proceeds from this release going back into the label to fund future releases.

On the compilation we find 18 bands including Bara Hari, Shhadows (feat. Reiya), A Perfect Error, Dedalos (feat. May Rei), Fact Pattern, Dead Voices On Air, Dread Risks, Black Agent, Mentallo & The Fixer, :Waijdan:, Sidewalks And Skeletons (with Cashforgold), Snowbeasts, SET, Reign Of Roses, The Mystic Underground, Suffer Ring, Dracula Party and SØLVE.

Included are previously unreleased tracks by Reign Of Roses, The Mystic Underground and Snowbeasts along with remixes by ESA: Electronic Substance Abuse, Grendel, Blak Emoji and more.

Next to the download compilation you also have the option to get 1 of 100 copies of the compilation on CD and 1 of 50 Silver Logo t-shirts.

Check the compilation out below.

And below are the previous compilations launched since 2019 when the label started.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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The new single from the Brooklyn-based synthpop outfit The Mystic Underground called “Digital is out now on Re:Mission Entertainment together with a brand new video which premieres today on Side-Line.

The band consists of singer/songwriter Vladimir Valette and keyboardist/producer Benedetto Socci and over the years they have often been featured on Side-Line.

Vladimir Valette explains the new single: “’Digital’ is a tune that was imagined as a bit of a groovy number that channeled some of our influences in Detroit House and stuff like Lisa Stansfield, Cathy Dennis or the Pet Shop Boys etc.. I don’t think we’d ever gone down this road previously but it’s always been our aim to try to keep people guessing and more importantly to keep ourselves of the mind of pushing things forward. The best way to describe Digital from a lyrical standpoint would be the sound of feeling lovestruck and lovelorn and how that translates into the lengths we go to in order to fill the void in the new Roaring Twenties as it were.”

Musically The Mystic Underground is taking hints from a lot of classic alternative bands such as the Smiths, David Bowie and New Order fused with a love of Britpop, dance and industrial. The Mystic Underground released their last album, “Wrapped In Riddles”, in 2020.

Here’s the video for “Digital”.

You can download the new single right below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Brooklyn synthpop outfit The Mystic Underground returns with a brand new album: “Wrapped In Riddles”. Influenced by classic alternative bands such as the Smiths, David Bowie and New Order and spiced with of Britpop, dance and Industrial, The Mystic Underground are quite the eclectic duo. Comprised of singer/songwriter Vladimir Valette and keyboardist/producer Benedetto Socci over the years they have often been featured on Side-Line.

They surfaced in the early days of the last decade in the synth pop scene and have since then remained active. The pair’s last album, 2016’s “Protagonist” was well received inside the synth pop community, and now there’s the forthcoming release, the new record entitled “Wrapped in Riddles”, which is set for a 13th of November release via their Stereosonic Recordings label.

A glimpse of the new material could already be heard on the record’s lead single, “The Fixer”, a song that touches on decisions and the risk of taking action and the perils of inaction.

But here’s an exclusive preview of the full album! The album can now be purchased via the band’s Bandcamp page.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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“Tempted By The Sound Of Violence” is a brand new video and single from The Mystic Underground, a band which has been featured quite a lot on Side-Line since the magazine went online in 1997. The track was written especially as “a bit of an anthem to those who still dream and live out there on the periphery of it all” so frontman Vladimir Valette says.

Here’s the brand new video:

The Mystic Underground consists of singer Vladimir Valette and producer Benedetto Socci. Together, the two offer indie electronic pop “with inspiration found in the sounds of machines with the warmth and immediacy of the hummable melody”. Through this single and video the New York based band announces its forthcoming EP “Simple Minds, Simple Pleasures” which will be out on the 27th of September on the band’s Stereosonic label.

You can pre-order the EP right here from the band’s Bandcamp page. For more info, do check out The Mystic Underground on Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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