Synth On The Dock Of The Bay is an experimental album by Cronkite Satellite that is slowly being released over an elongated period of time as a series of singles. Like all of his albums, Cronkite Satellite always tries to do something completely different when writing, recording and producing his original music. As for Synth On The Dock Of The Bay, Cronkite Satellite leaned heavily into the use of synthesizers, unconventional arrangements and exploring new production approaches while simultaneously minimizing his use of guitars, which historically was a cornerstone of his previous recordings. Through this unconventional process, Cronkite Satellite was able to learn new tricks in the studio that will undoubtedly kick his mixes and writing process into new heights for future artistic endeavors.   

This project started back in 2019 when Cronkite Satellite was caught in a rare tropical storm named Pabuk that hit the island of Ko Samui, Thailand. He was unaware of the storm unfolding before him but during the chaos, he wrote the foundation of the beats and melodies for this album. He was so engulfed in the creation process that he was completely oblivious to the flooding, the people around him fleeing the island, the lines of people getting groceries and shops being boarded up. The storm only lasted roughly 48 hours but during that time, it was as if nature was sending inspiration directly into his brain and the backbone of the album was quickly solidified. If interested, here’s a little video of when Cronkite Satellite and his Queen realized there was trouble afoot.

The lyrical content for Synth On The Dock Of The Bay was written & recorded during one of the darkest years in our modern lifetime, 2020. Cronkite Satellite was under a strict lockdown in Singapore due to Covid-19 and was helpless in watching his hometown of St. Paul/Minneapolis go up in flames on the news due to a tragic event that played out on the world stage. But in all of this uncertainty came a ray of hope, where he and his wife were blessed with a Prince growing inside his beautiful Queen’s womb. With all of this running through his bones, lyrical content seemed to flow out of him at an incredible rate.

By late 2020 the album was completed, however releasing the entire album in one shot was quickly dismissed and instead Cronkite Satellite decided to release each track individually as singles over the next few years. By doing so, he could begin the creation process for his following album and also focus on what’s most important, bonding with his Prince and Queen on the Dock of the Singapore Bay.