Cavaliers of Fun

"I'm ecstatic! A distant galaxy has made contact with Earth and chose my email address as a means of communication. This galaxy, name unknown, has been watching Earth for quite some time now and their representative is known as Ricco Vitali. Apparently, he's a stud on his home planet but not well known on Earth. He requested that I share some of his material with you. It sounds like they are on the disco tip too on his home planet. Also, they are huge fans of The Teenagers" - WDPK 83.7 FM

Desde una galaxia totalmente distinta a la que estamos acostumbrado... llega Cavaliers Of Fun, un proyecto de Ricco Vitali directamente desde Portugal/Reino Unido -al igual que Loto- que presenta más de un ritmo así todo lindo y chévere... como a ustedes les gusta. No, en serio, son toques de synthpop que con beats cheverones alegran a más de un raspado en diseño gráfico (chiste personal).
Tienen influencias de The Teenagers, de hecho su sonido es bastante similar y hasta un remix le hicieron. El track que nos mandó Ricco es 'Secret Galaxy' y prometió mandarnos más material en cuanto lo tenga listo; por ahora nos conformaremos con eso y el remix a los adolescentes.
Escuchenlo; recuerde la ley de visitar el myspace y decirle que lo escucharon por el blog menos fresco de cualquier galaxia secreta. - NTSFRSH

As me being away to a little town of Sweden with no internet. A small small town where internet haven't found it's way yet. No, internet is of course there, but I have been busy taking care of my family and making porridge to Santa...

But now I'm back and I've got a fine but late Christmas gift to you. It's Cavaliers of Fun, who I found through our new friends down in Australia; Not Cool Yet (check out their blog, it's great). Cavaliers of Fun is a one-man show from the UK named Ricco Vitali. He's on a music trip in outer space, as he writes on his MySpace: "Imagine a one man space odyssey to discover new worlds, new beats, new sounds..."

I think this guy haven't got that love that he deserves yet in the blogosphere, so give it to him, because it's really really good! Dreamy retro synths with a great space production as equals as Deluce, Worship and Pelifics. Also check out his fine remixes, where the one together with Portuguese Anagramme on Dragonette's "Fixin To Thrill" is a pearl. - Tracasseur

Eccentric UK solo act Cavaliers of Fun, is just what his name entails. Lots of fun! Taking you on a fantastic space journey via the 1980's through amazing retro synth solos, catchy, danceable rhythms and poppy, upbeat vocals with the histrionic intent that if the world is gonna end in 2012, we might as well have a good time our last three years!

Ricco Vitali, the man behind Cavaliers of Fun, has yet to complete this great galactic voyage in the form of a full album. But his new, yet nostalgic, mellow feel-good sound in his tracks "Secret Galaxy" and "2012" makes me optimistic for where he has yet to take us in the future.

Frankly, I was sold at retro synth.
- Off the Radar

Unicorns, check... Space, check... Unicorns IN space, check... And that my friends is how you get my attention.

"Imagine a one man space odyssey to discover new worlds, new beats, new sounds... Cruising through galaxies of retro synths spinning out huge solos, arpeggios running wild through the space prairies and beats the size of Tyrannosaurus Rex. COF is piloting a solo space pod to travel back to the 80s on Planet Earth. But in his own private galaxy it's already year 2112.."

Ricco Vitali, AKA Cavaliers of Fun is an electronic producer from the UK, although his Space Unicorn emblazoned Myspace has him listed as living in space. Either way, he's doing some really cool and fun music right now, and you need to take a listen.

His track "Secret Galaxies" has the laid back pop feel of a Pacific! track, but the melodramatic seriousness of a Kate Bush ballad. Hey.. this dude really loves his secret galaxies!!

Keeping in space stride, here is another of his tracks "2012"... about the year 2012, when we'll move to space via doomsday, naturally.

When he's not on his own personal space voyages, COF is lending his interesting talents to others as evident in his remix of The Teenagers single Feeling Better.

So take a look at his spacey ass Myspace and buddy up, I have a feeling he's going to catch on quickly and get some nice blog love.
- DIscohands

Cavaliers of Fun push all the right buttons for Summer Synth Pop.  Effortless vocals and seriously some of the best production I’ve heard in ages. Expecting massive things in 2010. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
- Not.cool.yet

THERE IT IS, THE NEXT SONG THAT'S GONNA BE PLAYING ON REPEAT IN MY PLAYLIST. INTRODUCING CAVALIERS OF FUN, SECRET GALAXIES HAS TO BE THE BEST FEEL-GOOD SONG I'VE ENCOUNTER THESE PAST MONTHES. A BIT LIKE EMPIRE OF THE SUN'S "WALKING ON A DREAM", EXCEPT IT'S A LITTLE MORE SMOOTH AND THE NEW ORDER FAN IN ME REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. LOVELINESS.
REMEMBER WHEN THE TEENAGERS WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE? IF YOU FEEL NOSTALGIC AND MISS THEM, I GOT A GOOD NEWS. CAVALIERS OF FUN, ON TOP OF KNOWING SECRETS ABOUT SPACE, CAN TRAVEL THOUGH TIME AND MAKE THE TEENAGERS YOUR FAVORITE BAND AGAON WITH THIS SUPER SWEET REMIX.
- Hey Kids!

Starting with the Cavaliers Of Fun remix, which starts off sounding like the climax of a dark musical. Before you know it though, the bass kicks in, and you're transported to a land of funky flavors. The Cavaliers add in some vocals of their own in the verse. The 'ohhhs' they add take this song in such a great new direction.
Its the story of the perfect romance. Two embraced underneath a permanent sunset. This track can sit next to Hemingway's take on 'Ari-es' anyday.
And then, the finale. He find the lyrics "I" "You" "Dreams" and links them together to form the perfect dreamwave outro.
Sounds like the ending credits to an 80's teen romance movie that was never made. Pure gold.
- Binary

We've been paying close attention to Cavaliers of Fun for quite a while now. For one reason or another we haven't gotten around to devoting a post to him until now. In our opinion, he's a true talent and one to watch very closely in the next couple of years. His ear for melody, desire to push boundaries, and keen knack for songwriting makes us think he's got a very bright future. We thought enough of him that we commissioned him to do a remix for the NightWaves single, Fascination, from our compilation 'LA Lights'. A standout remix (look for it at the bottom of this post), it shows his growth as a producer and definitely shows a glimpse of his potential when it comes to writing originals.

Today we bring you our two favorite originals from Cavaliers of Fun. The first, Secret Galaxies, is a true taste of dreamwave songwriting.
The synth chords that open 'Secret Galaxies' are the perfect primer for the song. They almost sound dulled by the confines of deep space. Like a more gentle version of Pegase, this song from Cavaliers of Fun puts us on a bed of clouds and transports us to a world with no gravity.

As the vocals enter into the mix, I can't help but feel like I'm being washed over by a cool breeze on a hot day. The kind of day when it feels ok to be alone, when being alone with your thoughts is just what you need. When the sun feels warm and the air feels cool. When all is pleasant.

Secret Galaxies is a perfect little pop gem, the kind of song that you just want to restart as soon as it ends. Once its over it feels like it might never have existed, and it makes me wonder if maybe I missed hearing it at all.
The synth solo washes over us like waves of hope. Its a triumphant song right? There's a level of contentment in the production, which is matched by the words that achieves an overall tone that you don't generally hear with this kind of music. Its a song that leaves me feeling calmer, cleaner, and happier about today. Can't ask for much more than that.
Next we have a brand new track from Cavaliers Of Fun. Midnight Resistance is a bit more uptempo than the rest of his productions. A solid dose of bouncy dreamwave for a Thursday afternoon. Like most of his songs, sunny melodies and warm feelings drench this track.

The one thing that seems to set CofFun apart from the rest of the up and coming dreamwave guys is that he takes a lot of chances in the arrangement and songwriting aspects of his songs. He likes taking left turns and letting a song go where he just believes its supposed to go. In this case, this turn takes a serious left turn.
The outro to the track devolves into a chaotic mess. Midnight Resistance makes me think of this track as a night out gone wrong. Full of hope and promise at the beginning, by the end everything has seemed to go wrong. The sounds themselves crackle and pop with nervousness. By the end all thats left is an off kilter bass... an all to familiar feeling when everything just falls apart after 1 too many shots.
Last bonus here is his remix for the NightWaves track, Fascination. Its my favorite production he's done. Pay close attention to his use of Kyle's vocals in the outro. The entire outro is a true work of beauty. Enjoy guys, and don't forget to head over to his myspace to check out the rest of his work!
- Binary

The first track is from the infamous Teenagers, well-known for their chauvinistic song Homecoming. Cavaliers of Fun (COF) got their remix on with the French band’s Feeling Better and the result is pure amazingness. Adding a slew of synth drums and piano, COF takes the drier original and turns it into an indie dance club gem.
- Vox Populi

Nothing like some feel good neon outlined synth pop to get rid of the blues, especially if it features Close encounters of the 3rd kind, a very young Jeff Bridges on Carpenter's Starman and Klaus Dinger on a makeshift drum machine. How is that for class? Coincidently, I spent the day listening to Miami Horror's Sometimes (the FF remix) and if you happen to be on the same wavelength, check this out. Now! Lastly, this gentleman was kind enough to provide a link to two of his tracks and a remix he did for Dragonette; plus confirmation of an upcoming EP. Awesome.
- The Wolfing hour