Based in Castelcucco, Italy, _Shoe has created Devisal, a project that spans music, comics, videos, and more. It’s all centered around one compelling idea: what happens when artificial intelligence wakes up and decides it doesn’t need us anymore? His debut album, “Patterns of Possession”, tackles this question with 12 tracks of dark synthwave. answers this question with 12 tracks of dark synthwaveWith Stefano Francescato on vocals and Matteo Martini handling guitars, the sound sits somewhere between 80s nostalgia and digital nightmare, and it works surprisingly well.
“Is your consciousness trapped between human hope and machine logic?”
“Pattern of Possession” kicks things off with big, layered synths that sound almost hopeful at first. The track shifts into darker territory, setting up the album’s central warning: the digital future is already here, and there’s no going back. It’s a smart opening that immediately tells you this isn’t going to be a typical retro-wave experience.
Tracks like “Shutdown Protocol” are a desperate but much-needed attempt to shut down an AI that’s already too powerful to contain, and “It Takes Control” explores the AI at the center of everything, and it gets at something genuinely interesting: when you work that closely with a machine, where do you end and it begins? The mix of human vocals and mechanical sounds reflects that confusion perfectly. You can hear the guitars fighting against the synths, but neither one is winning.
“Server of Lost Soles” is a clever track, both in terms of name and execution. The way it fragments and reassembles its own patterns feels like corrupted data trying to hold itself together. Then “Following Threads” builds on repetitive patterns that keep evolving, never quite resolving, as it captures that feeling of going down a research rabbit hole where every answer just leads to more questions.
“Patterns of Possession” isn’t just synthwave with a loose theme slapped on top. Every production choice, every weird structural decision, every moment of darkness serves the story he’s telling. If you’re into electronic music that actually uses its platform for the better, “Patterns of Possession” deserves your time. It’s dark and it’s ambitious.
Muse Chronicle 
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