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.
Discovering how different musicians and remix artists reinterpret a song can be an interesting journey to take. Case in point - 'Under Your Spell' by the 80's-esk group DESIRE. This track was released in 2009, and appeared in the 2011 film DRIVE.
A common complaint was the 80's 'Breakfast Club'-esk talking interlude in the middle of the original song:
An edit exists that removes this section:
Other artists have reinterpreted the song further, while incorporating improvements to it's structure like the clean edit: Other versions, perhaps released as B-Sides provide an acoustic/synth only track:
Among the most distant renditions is a looped vaporwave version, highlighting the core aspects of the song:
I came across a remix of an unlabeled remix on SoundCloud, I couldn't figure out if it was really chopped up English, or was actually Japanese: It's Japanese, as it turns out - and greatly so. Capsule has catchy tunes abound - worth checking out for some non-European dancey-synthpop: Capsul Youtube playlist (Original version)
While listening to this great track, I couldn't quite remember what GRIMES song he's based "Heartache" on: It took Googling "GRIMES swinging a sword in the desert", but I found it: The original is called "Genesis": Jump to 1:10 in the video for the core of the song.
Also came across this: An excellent 8-bit rendition of Genesis. I don't usually go for chiptunes, but this is unlike most chiptune tracks that lean too heavily on midi or that ear-piercing Gameboy-reverb. Check it out: Other versions are availble on the artists Bandcamp:
I decided to get in touch with TB+SA to see if they had the transcribed lyrics, and any other recommendations for similar sounding tracks they've produced:
Timecop1983 - Call on You (feat. The Boy and Sister Alma)
Lyrics
With my soft breath on the window I can trace the letters of our names
The cold air flows through the cracks of the pain
It touches my skin and I remember to always call on you in the rain
Calling to you now, just a ghost
I wanted to reach for you to pull you back to shore
I wanted to hold you in my arms, I wanted to go into the storm
But I wanted life more
You could never need me more than you did that day
Who could ever trust me to keep you safe
Breaking waves they claimed you, my feet in the sand
It's not because I didn't love you, I just couldn't swim
The Boy and Sister Alma also recommended this track from their EP as similar to the vocals on Timecop1983's track. It's wonderful stuff:
Also, an interview with the group on Synthwave Sunday:
