Retro Future: A DeLorean Musical Journey

In mid-2021, Colombian DJs and producers TEBÜ and ROUH launched the Time Pilots project. This duo’s identity revolves around the idea of transporting people through time with their music. By crafting tracks that blend experimental and nostalgic elements, Time Pilots brings us back to the past while keeping the door open to explore future sound possibilities. At the heart of a neon-drenched universe, their musical project revs up to take us on a journey through time and space. They aim to merge the styles of the seventies, eighties, and nineties with modern and futuristic sounds. Drawing inspiration from arcade games and retro styles like vaporwave and seapunk, their graphic identity perfectly complements their sonic vision.

The Time Pilots welcome us aboard with Retro Future, an album that encapsulates the sounds that have shaped and given meaning to this project, which began in mid-2021.

It’s been just over three years since the Bogotá-based duo debuted with their first EP, Traveling, an initial showcase of the sounds they sought to convey from the beginning. Playing with the concept of time travel, they explored rhythms that connect us to the past while propelling us into the future in a DeLorean with every track.

After several months locked in the studio, they released their latest work, Retro Future, on July 4, 2024. Composed of eight songs that take us on an interstellar journey with a more polished and matured sound, the Time Pilots invite us to dance and travel to other worlds.

With production led by the duo themselves, Retro Future represents the growth and evolution of Time Pilots, offering a spatial experience where experimental sounds and rhythms transport us to different worlds. From the beginning, their intention was clear: to have the freedom to move within a sonic universe where anything imaginable is possible.

The initiative is taken by Retro Future, the title track. It’s a sensory prelude that captivates listeners from the start, seductive and inviting, while creating the perfect scene to kick off a new journey.

Dry drum hits, experimental synthesizers, and a bold bassline set the tone in DeLorean Engine 2, the second track of the album, which highlights the essence of the project. It envelops the listener in a space race aboard a DeLorean piloted by the Bogotá DJs, the relentless rhythm inviting us to dive into an adventure that transcends space and time, creating an impeccable soundtrack.

As the album progresses, the interstellar journey traverses worlds filled with different textures and rhythms. Acid Whales transports us to a cosmic ocean, where runaway tides surround us with whales and creatures from other realms that swim to the rhythm of the music. At moments, it feels like the ship is sinking into a storm of acid rain, but in the next instant, the ship regains control, transmitting harmony amidst chaos, turning the song into a nautical adventure in the cosmos.

The journey continues with Deep In The Quantic. This track breaks all protocols to dive into a quantum world where all forms of energy are seen interacting, shaping the sounds of the album’s sixth track. The first minute creates such a dense atmosphere that it captures all the energy, and just when it seems there is no way out, a thundering bassline comes to the rescue, shaking the scene and changing the DeLorean’s course. This piece encapsulates the concept of Time Pilots, blending different ecosystems and unique elements that give each sound its identity.

This space-time odyssey announces its next destination with murmurs supported by the album’s signature drums. Slowly, a harmony takes over the moment, creating the perfect context for the song to take a different turn, leading to a burst of speed that accelerates with each beat, paving the way for landing on a magical land, evoking sensations of grandeur and happiness, building to the ideal climax.

In this dreamlike world, the end of Retro Future approaches. The Time Pilots’ DeLorean gears up for one last journey as the sun sets beneath a vibrant dusk. As night falls, the time pilots guide us through creative landscapes with Night Drive, a track that instantly captivates with absorbing, elusive sounds that change with the shifting scenery, creating a magical atmosphere for an epic conclusion.

The Bogotá duo leaves us with a more solid and focused version of themselves, experimenting with sounds that certify them as true time travelers, culminating a sonic odyssey through time.

By: Santiago González

You can listen to the full album on Spotify here: