Rolling Synthwave/Retrowave/Outrun 2017 Thread

I know a few of you like this stuff, a few synthwave albums got nominated for the 2016 EOY poll, so I thought I'd start a rolling thread. Maybe their already is one, but search is disabled so sorry. If there already is one, hopefully I can get a mod to lock this and I'll post on that one.

Mitch Murder has already released like a bunch of stuff... None of it seemed especially strong.

What I really like so far is Lazerhawk - Dreamrider
https://lazerhawk.bandcamp.com/album/dreamrider
https://open.spotify.com/album/5sE8JtVAJH23pYT4ZRAVwh[/url]

It's got your typical Vangelisish slower, emotive deep synth-pad stuff as well as faster toughd00d nightdriving type stuff. I think my favorite track on it is Hypnic. It has one track with vocals, Feel the Rush Tonight feat. Gunship, which is also really well done. I typically don't like tracks with vocals (cause they're usually boring and badly sung), but I did like that one, it's kinda emo. I'd describe it as emo-pop of the 00's mixed with OMD's tender/depressio songs. I imagine for many people that sounds like the worst thing ever, lol.

Clearly, feel free to post new stuff you like and are listening to!

This German website is pretty awesome for new discoveries, and g00gle tr4nslat3 does a pretty good job of turning it into English: [url]http://www.tl80s.de/[/ur;]

Thanks! :D

i need to get the gunship album.

they are supposedly making a follow up.

this stuff was the soundtrack to 2016 for me.

started off with perturbator of course, followed by his label mates : dynatron, tommy'86, gost, and dan terminus.

all of which is available : https://blood-music.bandcamp.com/music

then the other night i watched'it follows' with a fantastic soundtrack by disasterpeace :

http://music.disasterpeace.com/album/it-follows

another place to pick up some nice compilations to hear more :

https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/

there are some free comps at the bottom of the page, the 80s dream vol 1-3, and a few eps.

awesome, thanks for the recommendations mark!

Those 80s Dream compilations are really good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSGnNMnvM6M

I generally prefer the tough guy/drive into the sunset to destiny shit, but this one is very sweet and uplifting.

did there use to be an ilm thread for actual 1980s tracks with the sad nightdriving vibe? I thought there was, but I can't find it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4WLX8hfpJw

drive into the sunset to destiny shit

Here's a good example of that for those inclined

https://open.spotify.com/user/newretrowave/playlist/3SA018Uo3yhzvQocaF02MV

https://www.reddit.com/r/outrun/

I just bought the debut album by Into The Fire, a UK duo whose music is sort of synthwave crossed with postpunk (some very New Order-ish bass lines present) and early 80s UK pop.

https://intothefire.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-fire

love this Palm Highway Chase record, melancholy Carpenter vibes, relentless-8th-note-stabs. there's something a little rough or blown out about the production that gives it a strange lovely understated glow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLYmQQFh1MA

a lot of kris menace stuff fits in here, like this one with fred falke:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNgVSqrSNWE

simply huge sounding

some lifelike too, obv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22X5X49VhM

sorry, these are all old

Winter Severity Index - Human Taxonomy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiG88c_8qjs

some Italian postpunk/goth shit, I guess? the album is actually from 2016, but I don't think it's ever been mentioned on ilx. Mushy (aka Phantom Love, aka Valentina Fanigliulo) was once a member of this band and it seems like her music is slightly better known.

Drab Majesty
The Demonstration
(DAIS Records)
Release Date: 1/20/2017

http://www.metalnerd.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Drab-Majesty-3.jpg

http://drabmajesty.bandcamp.com/album/the-demonstration
http://open.spotify.com/album/2OjnZ8zI3lfjaOvi7xXAHP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EaUhtqJ6DM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqn9fXzYWoo

Surprised this hasn't come up yet in the thread... As Brooklyn Vegan said when they premiered the album before it's late January release, "Drab Majesty started as the solo project of Andrew Clinco (aka Deb DeMure), who also drums in Marriages, but expanded into a duo in 2016 with Mona D. The Demonstration is their first album since then, and the followup to their 2015 debut Careless. It’s rooted almost exclusively in ’80s synth-goth (making for a good fit with Cold Cave) — you can hear a good amount of Robert Smith in Deb’s voice, but musically Drab Majesty are closer to like, Clan of Xymox (who they’e opened for), than The Cure. Drab Majesty may wear their influences on their sleeve, but they do this sound well and The Demonstration is pretty damn enjoyable."

I think it's quite good, very retro obviously, but a very enjoyable album including the four remixes that came on the CD.

^ my favorite album of 2017 so far, so good.

the standout track from his previous album sounds like slowdive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU0Mw2bY-vM

that album sounds pretty gorgeous, not sure it fits here though, too grey and cold, not enough sports car vibes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pi-6c6jwVw

From the 80s, so I guess it would be "wave" instead of "retrowave". I think this would sound good on a nightdriving playlist.

such a great great track by Yello.
one of my favourites.
as a teenager i used to blast this on headphones as loud as my ears would allow, late at night, in the dark.

Wolf and Raven : that one hits the spot.

not sure re the more goth stuff ..
i like the machine arcade graffix/synth soundtrack side of this.
which yes will become tiresome after a while,
but at the moment, its still very enjoyable.

well, temptation got the better of me i picked up the GUNSHIP cd today.
rather glad i did, nice to have this style of analogue synth stuff thats not brickwalled a la a lot of the GoST/perturbator material.
and according to the wiki page, its not soft synths, but the lads have a massive collection of original hardware ..
also, had no idea but they released the album on cassette with a c64 game on the other side.

why does every one of these bands use the art from the same image meme generator

no idea .. seems to be part of the rules of the outrun genre.

i had never heard of outrun until this thread, and from a quick dig around, it appears to be very specific subgenre with narrow parameters both in sound and vision.

ahh .. as per the reddit link by calstars upthread !

missed that earlier.

and : https://www.reddit.com/r/outrun/comments/33r5mi/what_is_outrun/

sure but it makes it impossible to take any of it seriously

sorry for the irrelevant post upthread -- I thought this thread was a catch-all for old-school synth revivalism, but it looks like you're after a specific aesthetic. this outrun stuff wasn't on my radar until now, so thanks for that!

This is super thread and is possibly the king of all music to accompany exercise for that Rocky Balboa running up the steps feeling

sure but it makes it impossible to take any of it seriously

lol I mean it's just fun music it's not a thinkpiece

not if every time you listen to it you are conscious that the art makes it seem as if it was conceived as a shitpost

if you present your music as a meme it will be treated as such

also it is quite a feat for not a single person involved in that reddit thread linked upthread to mention the name Giorgio Moroder

surely you mean sergio valente?

yeah i hadn't considered kids making memes and stuff. it does straddle the "are you kidding me" line a lot of the time. i just revel in the neon vibes,

man all subgenres come with non-musical signifiers, some of which are really shitty. yeah you can judge synthwave by the crappy cover art memes just like you can judge disco by the bell-bottoms, and you're not wrong to do so, but sometimes enjoying music involves deliberately turning a blind eye to some of its worse non-musical signifiers.

This stuff deserves no discourse whatsoever. Just listen and enjoy, that's really all there is to it. Popcorn VHS fantasy music.

Trans Am's synthier stuff and aesthetics feel like a precursor to this stuff

This stuff deserves no discourse whatsoever. Just listen and enjoy, that's really all there is to it. Popcorn VHS fantasy music.

this is it for me.

i know i will tire of it, but at the moment, it's pure ear candy.
that said, the releases on blood music are a step away from the outrun material, and often use different visual templates (mainly heavy metal espeically GoST/Perturbator)

Trans Am's synthier stuff and aesthetics feel like a precursor to this stuff

― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown)

I completely agree... Futureworld could easily be called a synthwave album.
And even Kavinsky was doing his thing before the genre really had a name.

yeah the french were on this early i feel.. see also: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41KhJgxEFFL.jpg

I also would agree, there is no discourse needed. It's nostalgia fluff, mainly. It's about your futuristic muscle car and your homemade spaceship that really works and the first love your life that dumped you and that feeling you got when you read Neuromancer for the first time.

You could tie it into late stage capitalism and the crumbling legitimacy of neoliberalism and a desire to return to simpler, more clear-cut geopolitical narratives such as those of the 80s, but I think that's overthinking it!

huh went to spotify and trans am is back with a very synthy single!

http://www.stereogum.com/1927581/trans-am-alles-verboten/music/

"And even Kavinsky was doing his thing before the genre really had a name."

didn't click until this week that the genre name, outrun, was taken from kavinskys album.

that cant be something that happens too often i.e. a genre name lifted from an album name ?

one that does not use arcade video stylings.

i've not seen this before :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCSWzt56CC0

looks like old 80s movie clips, but i dont think they are ??

warning : not for the faint hearted.

Pretty sure "outrun" comes from the old car racing video game

what I assume anyway, I don't really know

ahh, i have never heard of that game.
i guess that's where kavisnsky got the album title from.

yeah i think it's the game

this stuff feels like an outgrowth of chiptune stuff, maybe they grew tired of the limited sonic palette of chiptune stuff

Step back a few more years to '02 and you've got Thomas Bangalter's singles on Roulé and the Irreversible soundtrack, one of the tunes from which is "Outrun," though it fits less on this thread than other tunes like "Night Beats" and "Paris by Night."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhXrjQyT6ho

yeah that works ..
not heard any of TBs material before.
suspect some of the munich machine album by (dj) hell fits this groove now,
but have to be careful that we dont drift into electroclash ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4CHNIfLPd4

I need to make an workout playlist with some of these songs

This stuff gets me pumped

Some precursors to the Synthwave boom

Ural 13 Diktators (2001):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiAIor2knU0

FPU - Crockett's Theme (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSdBTPoS_iU

and the granddaddy, Laserdance - Power Run (1984):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak5P_FVbs9k
"by 2017, the world economy has collapsed..."

why do synthwave people have such horrible taste in vocalists?

This is from 5yrs ago but fits the bill:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMPBXr5td0w

I like that, you don't often hear this sort of stuff in lo-fi, but it works great.

Same sort of time, same ballpark, perhaps not as much Outrun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6FD6t4lKKo

I mean the most immediate precursor is the entirety of italians do it better

I mean the most immediate precursor is the entirety of italians do it better

yup.
well kind of.
the symmetry release is definitely part of this groove.

for those that like the more laid back neon sunset vs vangelis side of this,
then the pre-blood music releases by tommy'86 and dan terminus are very worthy.

https://tommy86.bandcamp.com/ << includes some ILM fave Sally Shapiro collaborations

https://dan-terminus.bandcamp.com/

as someone who bought the neon pink Drive vinyl soundtrack, I think yes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxs6YI4yfvE

Search also: Tangerine Dream Thief soundtrack.

^precursor city

amazed that the Stranger Things soundtrack hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet

*mentions things*

Italians do it better aren't as garish and unapologetically maximalist though.. most synthwave has more in common with big room trancey house, just with 80s synth/drum soundz

(IMO/e)

Or you know the loads of hooky spacesynth instrumental cheez that's been churning out of Europe/Russia uninterrupted through the late 80s/90s/00s...

it's not clear to me that groups like Laserdance, Proxion etc ever went away

now it's the kids' turn!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcXh7SIB76A

not officially in the synthwave realm, but this track fits nicely alongside it I think.

Laserdance did disappear for fifteen years or so, but resurfaced a few months ago. They sound exactly like they did in 1987:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A1agXLbn9c

That Ural 13 Diktators track posted above has sent me down a rabbit hole of dark, dramatic techno from the early 2000s. I would've gladly swapped out EBM for that stuff if I had known it existed.

game precursors:

top gear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAMvfv6X8xs

skyroads: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjNEtDl0Z4g

wow that Skyroads one is heady

Search also: Tangerine Dream Thief soundtrack.
― andrew m., Friday, March 3, 2017 4:18 PM (two days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I worked with a guy super into this stuff, chiptunes, game soundtracks, also metal but anyway he had never heard of kratwerk or tangerine dream & was blown away when I played out & told him what years it came out

I honestly didn't know about the dance music stuff like this happening in the 90s. It's great!

xp -- the composer on skyroads was a chiptune/demoscene guy iirc (a lot of the old '90s kozmic music archive stuff is in this vein as well)

most synthwave has more in common with big room trancey house, just with 80s synth/drum soundz

― a but (brimstead)

I actually don't see that at all, the structure and feel is completely different. Yes it has a few modern production tricks like compressed kicks etc, but compositionally it's a whole different thing. No mix-friendly intro/outro segments, none of the tension-release buildups for dancefloors and I don't think a lot of the topline melodies would work in club tunes - if anything this stuff specifically harks back to the mood-setting/'soundtracking' function of pre-dj culture electronic music.

i think any attempt to contextualize this stuff w/o putting video games at the center is misguided

I think there's the stuff that orbits around video game music and the stuff that orbits around John Carpenter and The Terminator

this is one of my all-time favorite games and soundtracks--the whole playlist is worth a listen imo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrdorSwShLo&index=1&list=PL8M6xAzX1w_yTSe849rxBQ58sUoGPSe4Z

maybe a little more low key than a lot of the stuff on this thread tho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTE5TmUBAnM

Siegbran, you're much more right than I.. I think I have more to say about electrohouse and plasticity and lasers and stuff but the words aren't there.

Kuedo would probably fit in based on the initial first post description

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wsN9EtzF-o

after another week of the usual suspects i'm still not fed up.

so, todays treat that i have just found on cd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qApOLaLYZb0&t=1232s

more guitars than the outrun side of things, but definitely part of this groove.

bugger ..

https://dancewiththedead.bandcamp.com/album/the-shape

todays other treat from a couple of years ago :

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0111032182_10.jpg

download only this time, as £20 for 3 eps on 3 seperate cds is a bit mad.
some of this is totally outrun eg "L.A. Venice Bitch 80's"
apparently, carpenter brut was approached by blood music to join the labels synthwave roster as they all know each other and have worked/toured together,
but they could not see eye to eye on various things as the CB bloke can be somewhat awkward to deal with, so it all fell through.
would definitely have made for a label of choice had it happened.
will be interesting to see what blood music do when they come back into action.
label head is on a 6-9 month break after the chaos of last year, hence there is nothing available via the labels website shop.

Hasn't the Hotline Miami soundtrack come up here? It's somewhat more laidback but great top to bottom; I haven't heard any other Outrun release quite that satisfying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAM6mG6BWjw

never knew of it, cant buy it.

but will now check out MOON stuff ..

Just found a new single released by Swimware, "2 Days Til Retirement" -- https://youtu.be/LtYSFo-M5kQ

It's got guitars! And it sounds very much like its from something that would be produced by Michael Mann.

ILM's 2017 Rolling ILM's Rolling Synthwave+Retrowave+Outrun Thread 2017 Thread Spotify Playlist

https://soundcloud.com/mixmag-1/premiere-emma-glace

those mentioning Skyroads upthread - do you mean the old PC game? probably came out around...idk 92, 93? cuz I remember the music from that very well, think it fits into this aesthetic perfectly. the game sort of sucked but I played it just to hear the music. quick google search reveals that a lot of people thought the same way.

used to quit/reload until I got this track....so good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrpyc3Amdc&index=5&list=PLupeXa_RiyeElyS8_az9s63-Lextf1mdA

Is that an additional Spotify playlist? Great work, thanks! Have canes all 326 songs on the other one!

yeah, the old PC game

the game doesn't suck by early-'90s tiny PC game standards, I just suck at it

also, fuck druidia

Outrun, when played in the full moving cabinet arcade scenario, ideally at Blackpool pleasure beach is possibly the greatest arcade experience of all time. Along with perhaps Afterburner.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_Run

old heads would argue
http://www.8-bitcentral.com/images/blog/2013/starWarsCockpit.jpg

Yer arse

Star Wars does not necessarily a good game make

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1714315478_10.jpg

back to the future.
this is a strange album.
2 cds.
cd 1 = retro synth/electro pop gorgeousness.
cd 2 = soundtrack for a film/game which may or may nor exist i care not to dig deeper.

subsequently cd2 = short snippets of synth sounds and effects a la 'stranger things' soundtrack mixed in with a few extended tracks.
the extended tracks are brilliant.
as for the overall effect though ...
not sure, as it's all a bit of a confused mess.
that said, when this band get it right, they really get it right.
swings and roundabouts.

bugger.
no band name on cover art.
band = le matos.

https://open.spotify.com/album/4xMlG8lVUmeselxOxrwi1b

50 tracks?

massive bundle for bobbins :

https://groupees.com/synth7

no idea about most of it, but i have wanted to hear a few of these releases (dance of the dead, occams laser and timecop1983), so this is a crackingly good deal.

yeah, the old PC game

the game doesn't suck by early-'90s tiny PC game standards, I just suck at it

the gameplay was cool, it just had that Battletoads thing going on where you had to basically memorize the layout of the levels or you'd be toast. which kinda killed the fun factor.

this is a really good tune
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv2xPzU3zYo

https://open.spotify.com/album/4xMlG8lVUmeselxOxrwi1b

50 tracks?

sorry, don't have spotify, so didn't click on that link.
but yes, it is 50 tracks.
cd 1 is the main attraction, the second a soundtrack hence lots of very short instrumentals.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/23086-digital-dance/

Oh I just found out It Came From The 80s... vol III is out: https://youtu.be/0b_qqRLDqSw

Just listening to it now... Dance With The Dead Cover of Paint It Black is pretty great, imo.

https://groupees.com/synth7

this is a cracking little bundle for bobbins.

some of it's demoware, but to be honest, it's worth it just for the dance with the dead b-sides collection which is like the recent album, but with more guitars.
and is rather bloody good.

as for the rest, well, these are really good :-

occams laser - similar distressed synth groove as gost
absolute valentine - neon sunset soundtrack
confrontational - excellently produced moody electro goth songs with vocals (features cody carpenter aka son of john, and one of the bloke from dance with the dead)
timecop1983 - mellow electro
meteor - driving through neon lit landscapes soundtrack
robert parker - daft punk/filter house vs synthwave.

not too bad :
moter

shows promise, but needs some more time learning the way around machines/software :
neon shudder.

and as most of the videos for this genre are homemade lo-fi things, it's nice to see something as insane as this :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er416Ad3R1g

Oh I just found out It Came From The 80s... vol III is out: https://youtu.be/0b_qqRLDqSw

just grabbed the three volumes of this series from his soundcloud - ta for the tip off.
thats my weekend sorted.

Yeah these dudes are even trying to crowdfund a Turbo Killer feature film I saw.

new material from gunship.
well, a remix of a track by lionshare.
the video has a lot of the usual visual cliches, but still

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6b8XE5J0PY

could it be that when gunship get around to release their 2nd album it could be the album that brings the genre out into the open ?

* lionface.

ftr : i aint all into that remix.

however, it's obvious as to what gunship have done though (especially before she starts to sing),
and so, gives me hope for their new material.
now if kavinsky got his ass in gear, and made a follow up album, then things could become really interesting.

Das mörtal released a new album, "Always Loved" -- on bandcamp for $10 Canadian. Also streaming on spotify.

I'm liking it, but its cover art is pretty dumb though, not a fan of "oooh sexy naked ladies." style covers. Oh well.

Current favorite track is "Dark Alley Intercourse" (yeah, I know...) -- it has some nice syth lines and a good grove, and also rad oldskool modem sounds as percussion. Overall I like the album but I dunno, it does seem kinda sexist without any subversive/ironic twists like Perturbator has. Not that the lyrics are sexist or anything, on the couple tracks that have them... btw, the one with Ghost Twin has pretty great vocals, which tend to be kinda subpar in synthwave.

I just prefer my synthwave to have themes about like computers and muscle cars and dystopias rather than "I LOVE TO FUCK DA LADIES!" unless it's being self-aware about it. (ie, how "80's Stallone" made a track called "Party At Kitty & Stud's")

But it's really solid stuff, Das mörtal def. produces fun, exciting music!

https://dasmortal.bandcamp.com/album/always-loved
https://open.spotify.com/album/1AfVc3caLiISHB5yzSwbLw

JG Thirlwell (yes, the Foetus guy) has made a synthwave album under the name Xordox; it's coming out next month on Editions Mego. There's one track up on Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/editionsmego/xordox-diamonds-emego-240

The whole thing is really good. Much more TD movie soundtrack than 80s video game music, and slightly more ambitious at times than the rest (some of it was recorded at the EMS studio in Stockholm).

yeah, saw that re foetus - no doubt at some point i will order the cd.

in other news : looks like the carpenter brut 'trilogy' set is getting a full release thereby pissing off people who have paid through the nose for their limited vinyl editions !

oh, and you have not see, kung fury, then may i suggest you put aside 30 mins and just enjoy its totally over the top, but clearly synthwave influenced brilliance (scene member, mitch murder is involved in the soundtrack).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS5P_LAqiVg

no idea if this is the right thread for this, but there sort of a chiptune supergroup record feat Disasterpeace and Alex Mauer out now:

http://music.disasterpeace.com/album/ram-son

mostly 1-2 minute tracks, all of which sound like game themes from the 80s

or 90s really

i once saw dj scotchegg live on his gameboy - is that chiptune ?

not my kinda thing.

checked the link : nope, sorry, not for me.
and not what i would put in the synthwave vibe at all, but hey, i am sure there are some that would ..

http://i.imgur.com/CXzBlJ7.jpg

I'm listening to Timecop1983 - Lovers, Pt. 2 EP (more like a short album). It's a companion to the same kind of thing called Lovers, Pt. 1. which I guess I slept on...

It reminds me of FM-84 in a lot of ways - but also close to this thing I already said to describe something that also has the same ~vibes~ (in some respects):

I'd describe it as emo-pop of the 00's mixed with the instrumentation and arrangement of OMD's tender/depressio songs.

But more modulated, gated, and padded. Specifically the song, Girls (feat. Seawaves). It's a highlight of the release. Many of the vocals are really good but many of them I could do without, which seems to be what I think about a lot of synthwave vocal tracks. Projects in general seem to be improving in this area; groups are using more professional (or at least interesting) singers it seems. But also, there's plenty of tracks without vocals on this.

It might be my favorite s y n t h w a v e thing of the year so far!

https://open.spotify.com/album/6oHDr7gQEd7ciyWa5gsptX
https://timecop1983.bandcamp.com/album/lovers-ep-part-ii

Nice one

Agree re: vocals

the timecop 1983 album 'childhood memories' is pretty damn good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT3qf8uW1hg

This is a good one. This stuff makes me feel like I'm 11 years old again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcZMhwptSrg

This one's really good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLHlX8A_ReI

Huh, it just hit me that synthwave's a continuation of Italo disco, plus a whole bunch of other stuff.

i found a bunch of this stuff via youtube, appropriately enough. i am a fan of The Midnight in particular.

with the very on-the-nose 80s movie montages and emo-style singing i sort of thought this was a strictly internet-only phenomenon generally. those two things signified pure shut-in to me for some reason. but here's some live footage! people are into this shit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdsPbdLBKyo

also is it just me or do all these artists have a ton of stuff scattered across a bunch of different youtube accounts? extra confusing and fun.

but here's some live footage! people are into this shit!

yeah US tours by the folks mentioned earlier, are packing the crowds in.
and alongside youtube, the main outlet for this stuff seems to be bandcamp.

other names that have i have enjoyed in last few months : facexhugger, dreddd, elevn, and crockett.

For those compiling your year-end lists, this playlist includes all the available tracks on this thread, organized roughly chronologically in order of mention:

ILM's 2017 Rolling Synthwave-Retrowave-Outrun Thread Spotify Playlist

Proud subscriber
Thanks

nice. thought people had got bored and moved on.

please add

etheral delusions version of 'in the air tonight' to the list.
deadly avenger : the legacy
dreddd : motorcycle

i approach my 5th decade on the planet but in a position to wear either one perturbator t-shirt, oe a choice of 2 gunship t-shirts.
i clearly need to grow the fuck up.

nah, dude that's awesome!

I am trying to listen to more of this stuff but the lazerhawk one is good and almost transcends the genre imho

synthwave vs the festive season :

https://etherealdelusions.bandcamp.com/track/all-i-want-for-christmas

I finally made it to that Xordox album in my listening queue and it's fun and recommended for anyone who likes this stuff, especially the John Carpenter soundtrack + homage fans

Xordox ?

massive vhs glitch bundle for buttons.

https://groupees.com/vhsglitch

currently in process of downloading it all now...

what i have heard i like.

Sweet thank you

i suspect that this whole thing will now dwindle away as there really has not been a definitive crossover act/album.
yeah, advertising execs will suck up a few of the crew, and there will be a lot of AV syncs that will hopefully pay the bills.
but as for a big album that blows the scene up, i think the moment has passed.
i mean, even perturbator has moved on.

loving the VHS Glitch collection that i got via that offer earlier.
best so far is the MORAL DECAY album.

new album by GosT

https://blood-music.bandcamp.com/album/possessor

more variety in the sound design, i.e. its not just one solid slab of distorted synth (of course there is a lot of that style, as thats just the way with GosT).
and after i got over the excess of 'garruth', some of its rather bloody good.

I really liked last years Occams Laser album.

i only have Ascension by OL and its very much in the same groove as GosT with a love for over driven synth noise, and yeah, very enjoyable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D__6hwqjZAs

has this been linked to here/elsewhere on ilx? it feels like it belongs here.

channel also has Everybody Wants To Rule The World playing in an empty shopping centre and Don't You (Forget About Me) playing in an empty shopping centre, among others

far out.. there's actually a subgenre of vaporwave called "mallsoft" that aims to recreate such atmospheres

ok, so its just the standard songs playing in an empty shopping mall (urgh, for a uk'r that very phrase ... ) ?
sorry, but, i dont get it.
yeah yeah, zombies etc.
but ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQaH3lh-CA4

meanwhile GUNSHIP are back with new material and i love it ..
hopefully there is a new album as i still listen to their debut on a regular basis.

mallsoft in general makes more sense if you think of it as 'ambient' music or whatever
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qut4OjmBS0

01. Welcome 0:00
02. Lobby 4:05
03. Elevator 8:18
04. Restroom 12:16
05. Abandoned 17:17
06. Bookstore 21:52
07. Escalator 26:40
08. 2nd Floor 29:54
09. Food Court 33:59
10. Northwest Plaza 38:06

would buy an album with that track listing (hello john carpenter) !

as for the so called mallsoft genre .. nah.

https://catsystemcorp.bandcamp.com/album/palm-mall

blood music is back in action, and pushing the metal vs synthwave groove hard.
the aforementioned GoST album followed up by the Hollywood Burns, and MASTER BOOT RECORD releases are now up for grabs.
not totally sure re the MBR album as its very metal/vocals at times, but i may succumb.

np: Replicant - The Reckoning. pretty good!

also zoned out to a whole afternoon of 'dungeon synth' which is a whole other thing but adjacent maybe?

link ?
and WTF is "dungeon synth".
sounds awful.
in other news.

this is the best proper synthwave album i have heard in a long time :

https://deadlyavenger.bandcamp.com/album/everyday-is-kill

massive budget production levels as this was made while making crap for high profile tv shows etc.

ok the vocals are a little silly on the vampire tip:

https://open.spotify.com/album/3kSCSwWkDmGUQeImiOiNnc?si=-VjUNR39TkimE7ybr-ifXA

here's a whole channel of dungeon synth stuff

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UChmm356a5qe1luUsoatAgjA

as with all things bm-related, i have no idea if these guys are nazis! be careful

another impressive bundle for a few quid :

https://groupees.com/synth12

looking forward to hearing quite a few of these albums (scandroid, occams laser, and facexhugger).

https://open.spotify.com/track/7osXqK8lh9HmSyi9LY6yq3?si=-tYOIgKZTr-AYY6fqCBNDw

Advisory Circle - be seeing you

dont have spotify, but isn't Advisory Circle Jon Brooks (aka King of Woolworths) ?

oh, and that bundle I linked to recently, turns out it has Richard X involvement.
one of the albums is by Nina, and it has the Richard X produced track, Beyond Memory on it, which is very lovely electro-pop vs neon sunsets track.
also, the latest facexhugger album, 'sci-fi violence' is a massive step up in sound/production values, so he clearly has learnt a few tricks over the last year.
in fact, of what I have heard so far, (scandroid, gregorio franco, meteor, facexhugger, nina, cloud battalion), its a bloody cracking bundle, even better than the last one.
and there is more to be unlocked should things go to plan.

Enjoying the Midnight today :
https://open.spotify.com/track/51gfE7P4Ewjwjab4Xe9HmC?si=LDSQ7N2YQGKqF-CKlbirvA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1wKa7TjVV4

Diggin' this one pretty good

Midnight features on a really good track with Timecop1983.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYh4yxDqpqI

Mellow one from FM-84
https://open.spotify.com/track/1znnwRl4cNhCNCfz7NjtAO?si=N0FngnF4RuqcVrwPyaXV6A

https://mindspringmemories.bandcamp.com/track/a-6

The drop at 12:15 kills

facexhugger has made all his stuff for 'name your price' :

https://facexhugger.bandcamp.com/

also, Carpenter Brut and GOST are coming to a town near me later this year.
I may have to get off my sofa to see this show.
however, I suspect I will look like the taxi service for those in the moshpit.

New Midnight album is a little cheesy and upbeat but I like it
https://open.spotify.com/album/49ItLbfOzgYIVOeIdxxrnn?si=hSMwT6pART2Ip5GsPYU2tQ

looking forward to the forthcoming perturbator 2 volume retrospective release before he moves on from synthwave.
that said, his 'new model' ep from last year was still in the same sonic world albeit with extra bass noise in the mix.

America 2 and Kids(Reprise) on The Midnight album are great!

New Futurecop! album is full of collaborations and sounds really good. Very positive vibes, fresh!
https://open.spotify.com/album/4cEg5mb75YugZ9fZn2P5yn?si=9Z_GuadkQayBXIx05ADI5Q

Yes, very nice, if not very ambitious. Thanks for posting

https://youtu.be/xGLbx52KMKs
^
Super cool synthwave mix

https://synthwave.hu/

https://daily.bandcamp.com/big-ups/perturbator-james-kent-big-ups

the new album is very goth vs synths.

being going through and thought i'd add some favourite synthwave stuff I was listening to from 2015-2018ish

Tek.Lun - From above

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzPCGvlyiK8

Evil Needle feat Sivey - Next Gen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njEjBYhGTZw

Hudson Mowhawke - Bluetooth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xD7YfXufBU

Joss Ryan - A dark tale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w-JkP2asVU

Geotheory - Desiree (Aye)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUruLIHL-4g

J-E-T-S : pyrite blue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_kstFtns8U

Prymdplaza - Dream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2ous6WXjmg

The Midnight's latest tour sold out a few 2000+ capacity venues, they seem to have surpassed their synthwave peers in commercial success. An interview where they talk about breaking out of the synthwave sandbox