There are comeback singles, and then there’s CONCORDE — a gloriously overstyled, tongue-in-cheek blast of retro-futurist synth-pop from PURWIEN&KOWA that feels like boarding a first-class flight directly into an alternate 1983.
After spending five years away from music building Germany’s most successful 80s podcast, the duo return with a single so unapologetically committed to the aesthetics of speed, luxury and neon-lit excess that it almost loops back around into brilliance. Nobody asked for it, as they themselves admit — but thankfully they ignored everyone. CONCORDE sounds like two men who discovered Kraftwerk, vintage airport lounges and expensive champagne at exactly the same moment and decided subtlety was overrated. Pulsing synths, robotic grooves and sleek electronic textures collide with deadpan lyrical wit, creating a track that feels simultaneously nostalgic and satirical.
the song luxuriates in the fantasy of supersonic travel — caviar, champagne and the seductive glamour of paying with reputation rather than cash. Yet beneath the decadence sits something strangely emotional: a longing for a future that never quite arrived. The retired Concorde aircraft becomes more than a symbol of luxury; it becomes a metaphor for lost optimism and impossible ambition. That emotional undercurrent is what elevates CONCORDE above novelty synth-pop. PURWIEN&KOWA understand that retro culture works best when it taps into collective memory and imagined nostalgia at the same time. The song captures the strange feeling of missing an era you never actually lived through. The accompanying video only deepens the absurdist charm. In it, Thomas Kowa apparently decides to personally fly the last remaining Concorde in Bristol himself — a premise delivered with exactly the right balance of sincerity and self-awareness. There’s also a refreshing confidence to the whole project. In an age where synth-pop often arrives polished to algorithmic perfection, CONCORDE embraces eccentricity, humour and theatrical excess. It’s knowingly dramatic, stylishly ridiculous and incredibly fun. As the first single from the upcoming album Sechs, CONCORDE suggests PURWIEN&KOWA are less interested in chasing trends than building their own neon-lit parallel universe — one where the future still sounds like analogue synthesizers and international departures boards. Fast, decadent and faintly absurd, CONCORDE is synth-pop with first-class swagger.
RIYL
Kraftwerk • Pet Shop Boys • Depeche Mode • Air • OMD
Listen & Follow
- PURWIEN&KOWA Official Website
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- DISKO 80 Podcast