Synthwave

Synthwave, also called retrowave, is a musical style that emerged in the mid-2000s, influenced by 1980s soundtrack music.^[1][2][3][4]

Style

Musically, synthwave is heavily inspired by new wave and the soundtracks of many 1980s films, videogames, cartoons and television shows.^[3][5][6] Composers such as John Carpenter, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream are frequently cited as influences.^[1][7][8] The style is mainly instrumental, and often contain 1980s cliché elements in the sound such as electronic drums, gated reverb, analog synthesizer bass lines and leads, all to resemble tracks from that time period. However, synthwave incorporates modern production techniques such as sidechained compression and placing the bassline and kick drum prominently in the mix as heard in modern electronic music genres such as electro house.^[7]

Aesthetically, synthwave gives a retrofuturistic perspective, emulating 1980s science fiction, action, and horror media, sometimes compared to cyberpunk.^[5][9] Synthwave expresses nostalgia for 1980s culture, attempting to capture the era's atmosphere and celebrate it.^[10] Examples of this aesthetic may be viewed in films and video games such as Kung Fury, Turbo Kid, Drive,^[6] Hotline Miami,^[11][12] and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon.^[13][14]

Background

During the second half of the 2000s there was a desire among several artists to revive the sounds of the 1980s and early 1990s, particularly new wave and synthpop. During this period, several independent record labels emerged where the main focus was releasing artists in retroesque genres similar to synthwave, such as Telefuture Records.^{[15][16][17][18]}

French acts including David Grellier's project College, his collaborative project Valerie Collective, Kavinsky, Lifelike^[19] and Anoraak are recognized as the pioneers contributing to the early synthwave sound. These early artists began creating music inspired by famous 1980s score composers; music which was, at the time, largely associated with French house.^[20] Anoraak later stated in a 2014 interview: "American pop culture is definitely my background as a kid. I was born in 1980, so I grew up in a world taken by American music and movies".^[21] Swedish artist Mitch Murder,^[22][23] who debuted in 2009, is also recognized as an early contributor to the synthwave genre, known for his clean sound reminiscent of 1980s late-night newscast themes.^[24][25] Com Truise, whose retro synthesizer-based music was first released in 2010, has also described his music as synthwave.^[26]

The release of the movie Drive in 2011, whose soundtrack featured several synthwave artists, helped drive new fans and artists inspired by it toward the genre.^[27][28]

Following the various influxes of new artists into the genre, several of these artists gravitated toward specific aspects of synthwave carved out by the early artists, leading to a wide variation in styles between artists who are associated with the genre. The darker sound from Kavinsky has been carried on by artists such as Power Glove,^[29] Perturbator,^[7] and Waveshaper,^[30] and the more relaxing sound brought by College, Lifelike and Anoraak is continued by artists such as Futurecop!,^[31] and Robert Parker.^[6][32][33]

Since 2015, synthwave has reached a broader audience from outside musicians and popular media.^[34] Alex Westaway and Dan Haigh of the post-hardcore band Fightstar started a synthwave side project, Gunship, whose self-titled debut album was released on July 24, 2015.^[35] The Futurecop! track "Into Your Heart" was featured on the Cameron Crowe TV Series Roadies on June 26, 2016. The television series Stranger Things, scored by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the synthwave band S U R V I V E, lifted synthwave into further acclaim after positive receptions by the public and critics alike.^[36][37]

Artists commonly associated with synthwave

See also

• Cyberpunk
• Cyberspace
• Retrofuturism
• Vaporwave

References

External links

• NewRetroWave
• DRIVE Radio
• Those Lovely 80s Synthwaves
• Synthetix
• LIKE TOTALLY
• Vehlinggo
• Power 85
• RetrowaveFR