Promenade Cinema aren’t just one of the best synthpop bands in the world. They’re the band I most want to have a drink with.
The English duo’s third studio album, Afterlife, features two elegant cocktails on the cover. When I asked them about it, the conversation spiraled into stories of mezcal martinis, perfumed bars in Berlin, and Sichuan peppercorn–infused vodka. It’s one of my favorite moments from any interview I’ve done. But we didn’t just talk about drinks—our conversation also touched on cinematic storytelling, orchestral synths, and Dark Souls video games.
It helps that they’re two of the nicest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of interviewing. Promenade Cinema is Emma Barson and Dorian Cramm, a duo from Sheffield, England, whose haunting sound blends dramatic synthpop with theatrical imagery. Their debut album, Living Ghosts, arrived in 2018, followed by Exit Guides in 2020, which I named one of the best synthpop albums of the year.
Now they return with Afterlife, a strong contender for this year’s list. As spooky season sets in, I caught up with Promenade Cinema to talk about the new album, their influences, and yes, their favorite cocktails.
This record feels darker than your first two. The moon is a recurring image—these songs feel made for nighttime. Was that intentional? What drew you to that darker sound?
Emma: “Made for nighttime,” that’s a good tagline!
I think “The Abyssal” feels like the darkest track for me, (along with “Soulslike” in a more lyrical sense) and having that as the opener kind of sets that tone for the rest of the album, with songs like “Runners” and “Moonlight” having a brighter style shimmering through.
We definitely took a step towards a darker sound with our 2023 EP Dark Designs (no pun intended), and I think Afterlife felt like a natural evolution from this, whilst still keeping the lyrical storytelling and layered synths we have carried as a thread throughout all of our releases. Dorian often leans more towards pop sensibilities, and I’m usually the one trying to weave the initial ideas into something a little moodier by the end.
Dorian: With our first two albums, we persisted with ideas until they were completed songs, with one song that didn’t make the first album, finding its way onto the second in a new form. But for the third album, we wrote a large number of songs, whittling the shortlist down and being a lot more specific on the sound that we wanted to capture.
From a songwriting perspective, I feel like this is one of the most coherent albums we’ve created, both in sound and theme. Although we didn’t have a final sound in mind at the start, we quickly decided on the direction that we wanted the album to take once we had some of the early songs done and began conceptualising the journey we wanted to take our listeners on.
Your songs continue to explore theater and performance motifs, as you did on Living Ghosts and Exit Guides. I’ve often wondered about that. Were you two just theater kids? What draws you to those kinds of symbols?
Emma: Neither of us were theatre kids, but I’ve actually always loved the idea of signing up to an amateur dramatics group and giving it a go!
I think the element of theatre also leans into your first question, in that it’s fun to have a “role” where you can play with darker themes and moods that you can’t otherwise do in “real life.” We both also very much enjoy the film noir style and have often taken inspiration for the songs and lyrics from film and other media (which we’ll talk about a little later).
Dorian: There’s a sort of gothic romanticism I find with the imagery of the theatre itself that I adore. Writing the music with this visual cue in mind helps capture or at least potentially direct that passion into the music.
The title Afterlife appears in “Rituals” in a literal sense—making a deal with the afterlife. But the idea of endings seems to echo throughout the album. What do you mean by Afterlife?
Emma: You know, I am starting to think that perhaps the fourth album will need a new theme, as endings/finality is definitely something we’ve taken on a journey throughout all of our releases to date!
The themes of Afterlife walk a path of passing into the unknown in “The Abyssal,” moving through various stages of grief and reflection throughout the album, with the final two tracks, “Rituals” and “The Play Descends” being very much a pairing. “Rituals” tells the story from the perspective of the person left behind who has lost their loved one, trying in an attempt of absolute desperation to bring them back from the afterlife, to the point that even the spirits are growing weary of their pleas. And “The Play Descends” is the response acceptance of their fate and reassuring them that everything is as it is meant to be.
They have a similar interplay to the way “Credits” and “Norway” go hand-in-hand on the first album, and “After The Party,” “It’s Over,” and “Fading In The Arcade” do on the second album, which is always an intentional element of our songwriting. We like to have those connections between songs and put a lot of thought into the listening experience of playing an album from start to finish.
The final track “The Play Descends” features lovely strings that provide a sense of grandiose closure. How did that come about? Is that a real orchestra?
Dorian: It’s great that you even had to ask. We’re both terrible string instrument players. Emma played violin at primary school, and I took two cello lessons many moons ago. We both really enjoy the sound of strings and orchestration, with that instrumentation featuring on all of our albums and most of our songs.
We experimented with a Roli Seaboard whilst writing our second album, and I’m extremely tempted by the Osmose by Expressive E. Both instruments give keyboard players like myself a way to play more expressively and provide articulations such as vibrato, like a real violinist might.
The sound in question on “The Play Descends” is a beautiful sound library I discovered late on in the recording process, and it’s one I plan on using on more songs in the future.
Emma: It’s a big aspiration of ours to work with a real orchestra in the future, but for now our synths and makeshift living room studio will have to do!
Promenade Cinema excels in storytelling that we often describe as cinematic. What’s influencing you right now—from theater, film, literature, or other music?
Emma: I would say some of the biggest influences for this album have actually come from games. “Soulslike” being the obvious one, as the title itself is a genre of game that follows the Dark Souls formula. This track was very much influenced by the atmosphere and storytelling, and they are games we both enjoy to play (if you can ever truly enjoy playing a Souls game due to their crippling difficulty!).
There are also some subtle nods to film and TV throughout all of our albums, one example being “Cassette Conversations,” which is a reference to Cooper’s recorded tapes to Diane in Twin Peaks.
England has a rich legacy of pioneering synthpop—The Human League, Gary Numan, Pet Shop Boys all come to mind. But today, the genre feels more vibrant in places like Sweden. What can you tell us about the current state of English synthpop, and what continues to connect you to the genre?
Emma: We’ve always been followers and fans of modern (and classic) synth music, but new releases have definitely dropped off our radar somewhat in the past year or so as we’ve been so deeply focussed on writing and recording the album, alongside juggling our day jobs and everything else that life throws at you. So we have been generally gravitating to our familiar favourites and are probably not in the best position to comment fairly on the current state of English synthpop.
Being raised on ’70s and ’80s synth, New Wave, goth, and all things in between (thanks, Dad!) has firmly cemented my love of the genre. Artists like Kite, The Midnight, and White Lies are my go-tos for modern artists, with the two released tracks by The Sound Veil Society on a constant repeat, too!
And finally, I’m an amateur mixologist and cocktail enthusiast. Are those actual drinks on the cover of Afterlife? What are your go-to cocktails?
Emma: Ha! Indeed they are! These were thoroughly enjoyed in Velvet in Berlin last year. They change up their menu weekly, and I can’t remember the name of the drink; however, it was a delicious, distilled celery, vermouth, and mezcal concoction. The bar also had the most incredible smell—very spa like!
On asking what this was, they advised that as well as specialising in cocktails, they also blend their own fragrance oil, which I promptly purchased and had been enjoying up until earlier this month when it finally ran out. It’ll be my first port of call next time we’re in Berlin!
Dorian: Velvet Trash Punch No.25. This is their curated mix of leftovers from the previous seasonal drinks they’ve created. So it’s a drink I’ll never be able to have again. This falls in line with my usual mindframe when choosing cocktails. I want to have things that I cannot make at home. This does mean I have had some awful things in the past, but I kind of enjoy those the most in a strange sense. I’ve started to get into infusing vodka with interesting flavours, such as Sichuan peppercorn, that I was extremely happy with.
Emma: My go-to cocktails are usually of the savoury variety, like a Dirty Martini and especially a good Bloody Mary (try it with spiced rum or mezcal instead of vodka—you won’t be disappointed!). I had an amazing clarified Red Pepper and Tomato Margarita from a secret bar in Edinburgh a few years ago, which I still think about to this day!
What is YOUR go-to cocktail Synthpop Fanatic?! Cheers!
(Synthpop Fanatic: I have a serious sweet tooth so I love sweet drinks. At home, my go-to cocktail is an Empress 75, which is a French 75 made with Empress gin. It has a lovely purple hue. I also like experimenting with espresso martinis, and I think I’ve perfected my recipe for an orange mochaspressotini, which tastes like those orange chocolate Lindt candies you get around Christmastime. Very dangerous. When I’m out, I agree with Dorian… I want something I can’t make at home. But I usually end up asking the server for the sweetest drink on the menu.)
