Some Great Reward – feat. Simon Kershaw | Dark Synthpop / Darkwave – Depeche Mode, Mesh, De/Vision

00:00 – Original Version 04:45 – Clear Voltage Version A slow electronic hymn that borrows its title from a classic and turns it into a private confession. A late-night synth ballad that keeps the feeling close and the room dim. ABOUT THE TRACK “Some Great Reward” takes the 1984 album title every synthpop listener treats like a quiet landmark and folds it into something personal. It moves with slow electronic gravity, shaped by the kind of late-night devotion early New Wave and Darkwave both learned from the 80s. The song doesn’t imitate the era; it plays with its mythology — the feeling you remember, not the exact shade of sound. Most of the original tracklist appears inside the lyric — only “Blasphemous Rumours” and “It Doesn’t Matter” stay outside the frame. It’s an homage with its own pulse, built on restraint, melancholy, and the sense that the past never fully leaves the room. THE VOCALIST – Simon Kershaw Raised in Leeds, he sings with a grounded, low intensity — the kind that feels honest whether you want it or not. He keeps an odd ritual of deleting voicemails before listening to them; “I prefer the imagined version,” he says. His delivery reflects that attitude: controlled, intimate, and slightly unpredictable. LYRICAL THEMES The lyric weaves most of the 1984 album’s titles into one modern confession, leaving “Blasphemous Rumours” and “It Doesn’t Matter” aside. It follows the idea of becoming “Somebody” only to dissolve whenever someone else speaks. The emotional weight sits in pauses, flickers and the quiet shape someone leaves behind. Earnest, ironic, and painfully aware of how memory edits the truth. COMPOSER INSIGHT I always saw “Some Great Reward” as the moment synthpop realised it could be devotional, mechanical and slightly indecent at the same time. So I borrowed the titles like old passwords and rewrote them into one story — not a re-creation, more like a respectful break-in. I didn’t chase the original sound; I chased the late-night tension those songs still carry when they hit you years too late. If there’s a joke here, it’s that some albums keep following you long after you’ve grown out of your jacket. SOUND & STYLE • Core: Darkwave, Dark Synthpop • Influences: 80s New Wave, melancholic electronic pop • Character: slow-burning, introspective, restrained • Sound Image: steady beat, low voice, wide pads • Tempo/Danceability: slow pulse; late-room focus • Suitable for: quiet nights, last trains, dim headphones FOR FANS OF • Depeche Mode — late-night devotion and slow emotional build • Mesh — melodic synthpop with a quiet ache • De/Vision — mid-tempo electronic melancholy • Diorama — cinematic darkwave with a soft undercurrent • Iris — polished synthpop with introspective vocals • Empathy Test — glassy synth textures and tender gloom • Seabound — cool electronic pulse and reflective storytelling • Neuroticfish — dark electronic mood just below club intensity • Rotersand — widescreen synth arrangements with emotional weight • Covenant — calm, solemn voice over nocturnal electronics PRESS & CRITIC VOICES “Turns a classic album title into a private conversation in the dark.” (Neon Transit Review) “Modern melancholy with an 80s backbone and no wasted motion.” (Electric Chapel Notes) “A confident nod to an era that still hums under the skin of electronic music.” (Room Twenty Review) FINAL NOTE A slow, dark synth ballad built on deep bass, wide pads and an unhurried pulse — more for late rooms than the floor. The voice stays close and controlled, leaving emotion in the quiet space between beats. It rewards stillness rather than movement, leaning fully into the after-hours mood. A small reward, quietly delivered. #darkwave #synthpop #depechemode #darkelectronic #coldwave #newwave #electronicmusic #synthmusic #darkpop #80smusic #darkballad #alternativemusic LYRICS SOMETHING TO DO In a room Without reply PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE You said flat As if naming A quiet ruin Your breath paused Between syllables The only place That felt alive LIE TO ME But leave the edges empty So nothing fills The silence SOME GREAT REWARD Was never a prize Only a flicker I saw once In your eyes IF YOU WANT You can call I will answer Like a dim light Losing voltage STORIES OF OLD Crumble softly In my hands MASTER AND SERVANT Turned slowly Without heat Without meaning SOMEBODY Was what I tried to be But the outline Kept dissolving Each time you spoke SOME GREAT REWARD Reduced itself To a shadow On your voice And the way You looked away PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE But what remains Is the quiet shape You left In the dark