College - Synthwave

“When David approached me for this project, I was thrilled. Listening to Auto-Pilot, I envisioned a distant world with 1980’s American mall aesthetics. I wanted the video to resemble a fever dream, drifting through empty corridors and spaces that have long lost their luster. The dozens of hours of footage I have collected of dead malls in America paired with the track was a perfect, harmonious fit. It was a fantastic collaboration to be a part of. We both knew exactly what we wanted with this project..” - Dan Bell

Related: [1] [2]

Rise of the Synths - Documentary

The Rise of the Synths, sounding like '50s B-movie that never was is actually an crowd funding effort to by director Ivan Castell to create a documentary about the very music genre I've focused on the past few years: 'Sythwave', 'Retrowave', or just '80s sounding stuff' to some,
 

“... At least for me, it’s a reinterpretation of a retro sound that taps into somewhere in your brain and brings back memories from your childhood,” he told Vehlinggo recently. Basically, he’s saying that what these artists are doing isn’t always retro, or always 80s, but they’re using the pastiche and modern production to evoke particular moods. I tend to agree." [link]

I've written about the topic early on in this blog, mainly because it was something that I never saw articulated anywhere else. It was music that just emerged online without a physical touring or mainstream presence and tapped directly into how I imagined the future would sound as a child in the late 80's and early '90s.

I'm very interested to see what comes of this documentary, particularly given the lineup currently listed:

College, Electric Youth, Maethelvin, Com Truise, Miami Nights 1984, Kristine, Lazerhawk, Mitch Murder, Power Glove, Futurecop!, OGRE, Dance with the Dead, Night Crawler, Vincenzo Salvia, Stellar Dreams, The Midnight, Jordan F, Betamaxx, 80s Stallone, Dynatron, Darkest, Carpenter Brut, Timecop1983, Waveshaper, and MPM Soundtracks.

The whole interview is worth reading, and I'd hope anyone with a love of this musical genre pledges some kind of support to the documentary maker. It would certainly create a nice musical touchstone to show people unfamiliar with this style of music - and to help delineate it from actual 80's synthpop.

 

The many names of '80s Homage Music

A critique that the Chillwave term is too broad, or too confining for artists feels similar to debates about what is/isn't Witchhouse. I defer to the saying coined by the supreme court: "I'll know it when I see it".

This genre is really hard to pin down, and it's probably better for it. North American & European pop music, video game and movie soundtracks from the 1970's and 1980's all appears filtered through memory, and into this 'genre'. A single track that carries with it a chill, '80s vibe could be called one of many different names: synthwave, dreamwave, outrun, nu-disco, synthpop, retrowave, 80s revival, etc. - and honestly, with the exception of 'outrun', it's in the ear of the beholder. Genres are useful tags to help people find similar sounding music, but it's best not to get too hung up on what goes where.

Regardless, each artists offer something different than actual 80's pop or straight-up homages to italio disco/space synth. Listen for yourself, and track down more by the artists you like.

Power Glove - Nightforce


The Outrunners - Diamond


What many people think of as '80's synth is a byproduct of the hardware used in in that era by musicians. The strong, unfiltered synthesizers (Korgs, Rolands, etc.) once had significant limitations, including but not limited to: how many bars of music could be programmed/looped, lack of filters outside analogue studio equipment, etc. Newer artists recapturing/emulating that sound take it in interesting new directions though, as many work without the hardware limitations, thanks to newer equipment, or editing software workarounds.


Com Truise is another of my favorite synth-heavy, vintage computer sounding artists. Just about everything the guy touches is steeped with a catchy, vintage sound.

Check him out on Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/com-truise/

Or his blog/site:
http://comtruise.com/




Com Truise - Polyhurt


Com Truise - Brokendate




Com Truise - VHS Sex


Com Truise's also does some excellent remixes. Neon Indian's original track Sleep Paralysist is good, but the dual remixes Com Truise produced take it to a different level.

Neon Indian - Sleep Paralysist (Com Truise 'Eyelid' Remix)


Neon Indian - Sleep Paralysist (Com Truise 'Disorder' Remix)


While College's live performance sound like looped 80's house music, it's another nu-disco outfit with an 80's synth sound that's produced some catchy tracks. I saw this solo act perform live in Toronto recently while on tour with Anoraak, and both put on a good show. It's little wonder they produce great collaborative tracks like Fantasy Park:

College - Fantasy Park (Feat. Anoraak)


College - Amira


College - Desire