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
― soref, Sunday, 26 February 2017 20:03 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4WLX8hfpJw
drive into the sunset to destiny shit
Here's a good example of that for those inclined
― larry appleton, Monday, 27 February 2017 23:22 (seven years ago) link
https://open.spotify.com/user/newretrowave/playlist/3SA018Uo3yhzvQocaF02MV
― calstars, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 02:11 (seven years ago) link
https://www.reddit.com/r/outrun/
― calstars, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 02:13 (seven years ago) link
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
― Don Van Gorp, midwest regional VP, marketing (誤訳侮辱), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 02:27 (seven years ago) link
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 glowhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLYmQQFh1MA
― a but (brimstead), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 03:06 (seven years ago) link
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
― a but (brimstead), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 03:13 (seven years ago) link
some lifelike too, obvhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22X5X49VhM
― a but (brimstead), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 03:15 (seven years ago) link
sorry, these are all old
― a but (brimstead), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 03:18 (seven years ago) link
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.
― ridiculously dope soul (unregistered), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 03:26 (seven years ago) link
Drab MajestyThe 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-demonstrationhttp://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.
― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 03:27 (seven years ago) link
^ 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
― just another (diamonddave85), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 03:38 (seven years ago) link
that album sounds pretty gorgeous, not sure it fits here though, too grey and cold, not enough sports car vibes
― a but (brimstead), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 03:54 (seven years ago) link
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.
― larry appleton, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 04:18 (seven years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 10:40 (seven years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 10:46 (seven years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 14:08 (seven years ago) link
why does every one of these bands use the art from the same image meme generator
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 15:11 (seven years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 15:25 (seven years ago) link
ahh .. as per the reddit link by calstars upthread !
missed that earlier.
― mark e, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 15:26 (seven years ago) link
and : https://www.reddit.com/r/outrun/comments/33r5mi/what_is_outrun/
― mark e, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 15:27 (seven years ago) link
sure but it makes it impossible to take any of it seriously
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 17:08 (seven years ago) link
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!
― ridiculously dope soul (unregistered), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 17:28 (seven years ago) link
This is super thread and is possibly the king of all music to accompany exercise for that Rocky Balboa running up the steps feeling
― the article don, Tuesday, 28 February 2017 20:41 (seven years ago) link
lol I mean it's just fun music it's not a thinkpiece
― a but (brimstead), Tuesday, 28 February 2017 23:54 (seven years ago) link
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
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 01:37 (seven years ago) link
also it is quite a feat for not a single person involved in that reddit thread linked upthread to mention the name Giorgio Moroder
― a self-reinforcing downward spiral of male-centric indie (katherine), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 01:39 (seven years ago) link
surely you mean sergio valente?
― calstars, Wednesday, 1 March 2017 01:50 (seven years ago) link
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,
― a but (brimstead), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 02:19 (seven years ago) link
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.
― increasingly bonkers (rushomancy), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 02:35 (seven years ago) link
This stuff deserves no discourse whatsoever. Just listen and enjoy, that's really all there is to it. Popcorn VHS fantasy music.
― larry appleton, Wednesday, 1 March 2017 02:50 (seven years ago) link
Trans Am's synthier stuff and aesthetics feel like a precursor to this stuff
― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 05:01 (seven years ago) link
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)
― mark e, Wednesday, 1 March 2017 08:38 (seven years ago) link
― 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.
― Frobisher, Wednesday, 1 March 2017 19:54 (seven years ago) link
yeah the french were on this early i feel.. see also: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41KhJgxEFFL.jpg
― a but (brimstead), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 19:59 (seven years ago) link
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!
― Frobisher, Wednesday, 1 March 2017 20:00 (seven years ago) link
huh went to spotify and trans am is back with a very synthy single!
http://www.stereogum.com/1927581/trans-am-alles-verboten/music/
― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 1 March 2017 20:21 (seven years ago) link
"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 ?
― mark e, Thursday, 2 March 2017 10:23 (seven years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Thursday, 2 March 2017 10:51 (seven years ago) link
Pretty sure "outrun" comes from the old car racing video game
― a but (brimstead), Thursday, 2 March 2017 16:29 (seven years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Thursday, 2 March 2017 16:31 (seven years ago) link
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
― blonde redheads have more fun (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 2 March 2017 18:13 (seven years ago) link
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
― andrew m., Thursday, 2 March 2017 19:49 (seven years ago) link
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 ..
― mark e, Thursday, 2 March 2017 20:05 (seven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4CHNIfLPd4
I need to make an workout playlist with some of these songs
― larry appleton, Friday, 3 March 2017 04:17 (seven years ago) link
This stuff gets me pumped
― larry appleton, Friday, 3 March 2017 04:20 (seven years ago) link
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..."
― Siegbran, Friday, 3 March 2017 08:42 (seven years ago) link
why do synthwave people have such horrible taste in vocalists?
― clouds, Friday, 3 March 2017 13:58 (seven years ago) link
This is from 5yrs ago but fits the bill:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMPBXr5td0w
― Neil S, Friday, 3 March 2017 14:46 (seven years ago) link
synthwave vs the festive season :
https://etherealdelusions.bandcamp.com/track/all-i-want-for-christmas
― mark e, Thursday, 21 December 2017 18:26 (six years ago) link
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
― mh, Friday, 5 January 2018 19:51 (six years ago) link
Xordox ?
― mark e, Friday, 5 January 2018 20:12 (six years ago) link
massive vhs glitch bundle for buttons.
https://groupees.com/vhsglitch
currently in process of downloading it all now...
what i have heard i like.
― mark e, Thursday, 11 January 2018 21:50 (six years ago) link
Sweet thank you
― June Pointer’s Valentine’s Day Secret Admirer Note Author (calstars), Thursday, 11 January 2018 23:10 (six years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Thursday, 11 January 2018 23:18 (six years ago) link
loving the VHS Glitch collection that i got via that offer earlier.best so far is the MORAL DECAY album.
― mark e, Thursday, 1 March 2018 18:33 (six years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Friday, 23 March 2018 10:56 (six years ago) link
I really liked last years Occams Laser album.
― Siegbran, Friday, 23 March 2018 10:59 (six years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Friday, 23 March 2018 11:03 (six years ago) link
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
― soref, Friday, 23 March 2018 20:15 (six years ago) link
far out.. there's actually a subgenre of vaporwave called "mallsoft" that aims to recreate such atmospheres
― brimstead, Friday, 23 March 2018 20:23 (six years ago) link
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 ...
― mark e, Friday, 23 March 2018 20:37 (six years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Friday, 23 March 2018 20:44 (six years ago) link
mallsoft in general makes more sense if you think of it as 'ambient' music or whatever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qut4OjmBS0
― brimstead, Friday, 23 March 2018 21:34 (six years ago) link
01. Welcome 0:0002. Lobby 4:0503. Elevator 8:1804. Restroom 12:1605. Abandoned 17:1706. Bookstore 21:5207. Escalator 26:4008. 2nd Floor 29:5409. Food Court 33:5910. Northwest Plaza 38:06
would buy an album with that track listing (hello john carpenter) !
as for the so called mallsoft genre .. nah.
― mark e, Friday, 23 March 2018 21:44 (six years ago) link
https://catsystemcorp.bandcamp.com/album/palm-mall
― big C (calstars), Friday, 23 March 2018 22:36 (six years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Sunday, 22 April 2018 19:32 (five years ago) link
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?
― goole, Wednesday, 9 May 2018 19:58 (five years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Wednesday, 9 May 2018 20:15 (five years ago) link
ok the vocals are a little silly on the vampire tip:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3kSCSwWkDmGUQeImiOiNnc?si=-VjUNR39TkimE7ybr-ifXA
― goole, Wednesday, 9 May 2018 20:22 (five years ago) link
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
― goole, Wednesday, 9 May 2018 20:24 (five years ago) link
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).
― mark e, Thursday, 31 May 2018 17:45 (five years ago) link
https://open.spotify.com/track/7osXqK8lh9HmSyi9LY6yq3?si=-tYOIgKZTr-AYY6fqCBNDw
Advisory Circle - be seeing you
― calstars, Sunday, 3 June 2018 02:09 (five years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Thursday, 7 June 2018 17:43 (five years ago) link
Enjoying the Midnight today :https://open.spotify.com/track/51gfE7P4Ewjwjab4Xe9HmC?si=LDSQ7N2YQGKqF-CKlbirvA
― calstars, Thursday, 14 June 2018 15:06 (five years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1wKa7TjVV4
Diggin' this one pretty good
― funzone76, Thursday, 21 June 2018 04:53 (five years ago) link
Midnight features on a really good track with Timecop1983.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYh4yxDqpqI
― mark e, Thursday, 21 June 2018 08:19 (five years ago) link
Mellow one from FM-84https://open.spotify.com/track/1znnwRl4cNhCNCfz7NjtAO?si=N0FngnF4RuqcVrwPyaXV6A
― calstars, Friday, 13 July 2018 15:32 (five years ago) link
https://mindspringmemories.bandcamp.com/track/a-6
― calstars, Sunday, 15 July 2018 02:51 (five years ago) link
The drop at 12:15 kills
― calstars, Sunday, 15 July 2018 03:00 (five years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Thursday, 16 August 2018 20:42 (five years ago) link
New Midnight album is a little cheesy and upbeat but I like it https://open.spotify.com/album/49ItLbfOzgYIVOeIdxxrnn?si=hSMwT6pART2Ip5GsPYU2tQ
― calstars, Thursday, 27 September 2018 16:11 (five years ago) link
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.
― mark e, Thursday, 27 September 2018 18:39 (five years ago) link
America 2 and Kids(Reprise) on The Midnight album are great!
― the article don, Thursday, 27 September 2018 22:01 (five years ago) link
New Futurecop! album is full of collaborations and sounds really good. Very positive vibes, fresh!https://open.spotify.com/album/4cEg5mb75YugZ9fZn2P5yn?si=9Z_GuadkQayBXIx05ADI5Q
― Frobisher, Tuesday, 2 April 2019 18:23 (five years ago) link
Yes, very nice, if not very ambitious. Thanks for posting
― calstars, Tuesday, 2 April 2019 20:02 (five years ago) link
https://youtu.be/xGLbx52KMKs^Super cool synthwave mix
― calstars, Friday, 5 June 2020 00:51 (three years ago) link
https://synthwave.hu/
― calstars, Sunday, 21 February 2021 18:52 (three years ago) link
https://daily.bandcamp.com/big-ups/perturbator-james-kent-big-ups
the new album is very goth vs synths.
― mark e, Friday, 28 May 2021 18:40 (two years ago) link
being going through and thought i'd add some favourite synthwave stuff I was listening to from 2015-2018ishTek.Lun - From abovehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzPCGvlyiK8Evil Needle feat Sivey - Next Genhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njEjBYhGTZwHudson Mowhawke - Bluetoothhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xD7YfXufBUJoss Ryan - A dark talehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w-JkP2asVUGeotheory - Desiree (Aye)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUruLIHL-4gJ-E-T-S : pyrite bluehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_kstFtns8UPrymdplaza - Dreamhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2ous6WXjmg
― Swanswans, Thursday, 4 November 2021 16:18 (two years ago) link
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
― theo, Thursday, 14 December 2023 04:15 (four months ago) link