#darksynth

[cryingidol]

And for a long time you wouldn't feel anything. And then you'd burst into fire. Forever... And the angel's wouldn't help you. Because they've all gone away.

[radiotrophicfungi]

BLINKIE SET #56 . . . INTERESTS & FUN

[cyberpunkonline]

The Honest Verdict on SweetDream Versus the Usual Suspects

Every few months a new AI girlfriend app gets hyped as the candy.ai killer, and most of them fade fast because they are thin under the surface. I have learned to be skeptical. So when I say SweetDream actually holds up, it comes from spending real time at sweetdream.ai rather than skimming a feature list.

The decisive factor, in my view, is coherence. SweetDream does not just bolt features together. The character you create, with their looks, voice, personality and backstory, carries through into chat that is natural, emotionally intelligent and able to remember context. That continuity is what makes an AI companion feel alive instead of disposable.

And the surrounding experience is genuinely impressive, with standout AI photos and videos, human-sounding voice messages and real-time phone calls, plus video calls and live cam sessions with select characters, all wrapped in serious privacy. Compared with the usual suspects, SweetDream is simply the more complete and more believable AI girlfriend platform. That is the honest verdict.

[cyberpunkonline]

10 CYBERPUNK ARTISTS THAT'LL JACK INTO YOUR SKULL AND REWRITE YOUR TASTE IN MUSIC

Your auditory implants won’t know what hit ‘em.

Right then, reader — pull up your faux-leather trousers and strap on your chrome-plated headphones. We’re blasting through the corrupted circuits of the 2025 underground, bringing you 10 contemporary artists who sound like they’re scoring a riot in Neo-Tokyo while being hacked in real time. Yes, there’s synths. Yes, there’s screaming. No, Grimes isn’t on this list.

MACHINE GIRL Genre: Gabberpunk, Cybercore, ADHD-core Ever wanted to be mugged in a server room by a rave demon? Machine Girl has you covered. It’s breakbeats plus punk plus absolute chaos. Every track is a manic assault from a frothing modem on fire. Start with “MG Ultra” — it's like doing parkour through a collapsing arcade. Machine Girl is a project from New York-based Matt Stephenson, who started it in 2013. What began as breakcore mutated fast into a multi-genre freakout. Live performances are frenzied, sweaty, and borderline ritualistic, often featuring live drums and mosh pit energy in tiny venues. Bandcamp: https://machinegirl.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0WwSkZ7LtFUFjGjMZBMt6T

TENGUSHEE Genre: Faewave, Electrofolk, Cyberdrift, Post-Ratcore This glitching shadow-beast of the net is what happens if a faerie takes too many digital drugs and starts a resistance movement in a cursed VR chatroom. Tengushee doesn’t just cross genres — they light them on fire, digitise the ashes, and make a concept album out of it. Expect story-driven drops, haunted samplers, and the occasional whisper from the void. Tengushee operates like a ghost in the wires, often dropping full-concept albums with narrative arcs tied to multimedia projects, zines, or even encoded tone signals. Based somewhere between London and Faewave, their work includes collaborations with glitch-artists and mythmakers, crafting a world as deep as it is weird. Bandcamp: https://tengushee.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5pPzJk8q2YbVRo3dEiE5rZ

PERTURBATOR Genre: Darksynth, CyberGoth Former black metal guitarist turns synth wizard and soundtracks the end of civilisation in style. Every track feels like the opening credits to a forbidden anime you found on a hacked VHS tape. His recent albums dip into goth rock, coldwave, and grim industrial — a sonic warehouse rave thrown inside a haunted monolith. James Kent is the man behind Perturbator, rising out of the French synthwave explosion in the early 2010s. What set him apart was the sheer cinematic density of his work, as well as his willingness to evolve. His later albums feel like full-blown existential crises scored with analog doom. Bandcamp: https://perturbator.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0O02jvPzKT1kQEYg5XEqRA

GUNSHIP Genre: Synthwave with Dad Issues Think “Stranger Things” but horny for Blade Runner. GUNSHIP slaps synth arpeggios across your face while whispering movie references into your ear. Songs like “Tech Noir” and “Dark All Day” are pure neon cocaine. Bonus points for the video with Tim Capello, the sax guy from The Lost Boys. Formed in the UK, GUNSHIP emerged from the ashes of alternative rock band Fightstar. What they lacked in punk energy, they made up for with lush synth arrangements and cinematic ambition. With vocal guests ranging from horror icons to YouTube animators, they’re a love letter to analog future-fantasies. Bandcamp: https://gunshipmusic.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3dD9W6Gh8Mo9Tu4S7ydz8q

SHREDDER 1984 Genre: Darksynth, CyberMetal French producer who mashes heavy metal energy into a screaming cyberpunk blender. His album "Dystopian Future" is all dark atmosphere and adrenaline. This is music for doing squats with a neural interface strapped to your head. Shredder 1984 is exactly what it says on the tin: shred. A project born from metal roots but raised on VHS aesthetics and neon grime, Shredder builds tracks that feel like boss fights in an underground data vault. Occasionally throws in face-melting guitar solos for good measure. Bandcamp: https://shredder1984.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2YlR5FzF4XWgeXGxR2b3Vh

REVOLTING PUPPETS Genre: Cyberpunk Punk These Swiss psychos deliver rebellious punk fused with grinding electronics. The kind of band that would stage-dive into a riot squad. Add in LED helmets and maximum cyber attitude and you’ve got a live act worth risking a black eye for. Born in Bern, Switzerland, the Puppets are part cyber-art project, part live-action political tantrum. The band leans hard into performance art, complete with backstories and a lore-rich website that feels like an ARG. Think Rage Against the Machine, but upgraded with malware. Website: http://revoltingpuppets.com

CLIPPING. Genre: Sci-fi Horror Rap Experimental hip hop trio fronted by Daveed Diggs that brings tales of malfunctioning AIs, haunted ships, and cosmic terror over glitch-heavy beats. Their albums feel like audio novellas for doomed protagonists. Start with "There Existed an Addiction to Blood" or "Visions of Bodies Being Burned." clipping. formed in Los Angeles, with William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes providing the surgical, abrasive production. Their use of silence, static, and horror tropes makes them unique in the rap world. And yes, Diggs was in Hamilton, but don’t let that fool you — these guys write soundtracks for existential dread. Bandcamp: https://clppng.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7cNNNhdJDrt3vgQjwSavNf

BEAST IN BLACK Genre: Cyber Metal, Synth Power If you're into big riffs, bigger vocals, and synths that sound like they were mined from an alien war machine, Beast in Black delivers. Their album "Dark Connection" is basically a concept record about AI girlfriends and cyber-samurai. Finnish-Greek metal band formed by former Battle Beast guitarist Anton Kabanen, Beast in Black are unapologetically bombastic. They mix anime aesthetics with power metal drama, and if you can get past the over-the-top vocals, you’ll find a band that gets how to marry synths with shredding. Website: https://beastinblack.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wJ1z2KgFvb1GQ9ApnFlog

OKLOU Genre: Glitchpop, Cyberambient A softer, prettier ghost in the machine. Oklou blends vaporous vocals with ambient electronics and medieval fantasy energy. It’s like if a fairy princess got lost inside a Sega Dreamcast. Oklou is the moniker of French artist Marylou Mayniel. With classical music training and a background in club culture, she creates tracks that are emotionally dense but digitally fragile. Her work occupies the misty edges of cyberpunk, where romance and signal loss overlap. Bandcamp: https://oklou.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1FqqOl9itIUpXr4jZPIVoT

NAZAR Genre: Deconstructed Club, Warwave Amsterdam-based producer with beats sharp enough to cut through reinforced concrete. Inspired by war, trauma, and classic cyberpunk anime. His upcoming album "Demilitarize" might be the most realistic sonic vision of future conflict you’ll hear this year. Nazar was born in Angola and raised in Europe, and his music reflects that blend of postcolonial tension and Western club evolution. His productions on labels like Hyperdub use field recordings, mechanical rhythms, and unflinching political commentary. Harsh, heavy, and honest. Bandcamp: https://nazarmusic.bandcamp.com Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1pQWsZQehhS4wavwh7Fe8D

[lazerpunk]

[arcadebroke]

Terrorbytes

[possible-streetwear]

LIGHT ASYLUM

[nofatclips]

Beta version of Stark by The Unseen

[aesthetictournament]

Round 1, Match 178 — Mallsoft vs. Darksynth

Mallsoft is a musical and visual subgenre of Vaporwave that emerged in the early 2010s. It is characterized by its focus on the atmosphere and architecture of shopping malls, grocery stores, and other public mercantile environments. By sampling background music such as muzak, smooth jazz, and easy listening, mallsoft aims to conjure hazy, dream-like memories of 1980s and 1990s consumer culture. The aesthetic often emphasizes the "space" around the music, utilizing heavy reverb to mimic the acoustics of massive, empty atriums. While it frequently evokes comfort and nostalgia, mallsoft also explores themes of hyper-capitalism, loneliness, and the eerie nature of abandoned commercial spaces. The visual identity of mallsoft is deeply rooted in the architecture of late 20th-century commercialism. It prioritizes imagery of large, enclosed spaces designed for public transit and commerce. Common visual elements include massive glass atriums, multi-level walkways, indoor fountains, large potted plants (such as palms), elements of Memphis Design, neon light fixtures, and pastel-heavy color palettes. Visuals typically oscillate between two extremes: the "golden era" mall, bustling with customers and bright lights, and the "dead mall," characterized by vacant storefronts, flickering lights, and physical decay. Visual media associated with mallsoft often uses low-fidelity video filters or grainy photography to enhance the feeling of a "reconstructed" or half-remembered past. This aesthetic choice heightens the sense of isolation and the "cold" nature of meandering through corporate environments.

vs.

Darksynth is a microgenre of electronic music that emerged in the early 2010s as a darker, heavier, and more aggressive offshoot of the Synthwave movement. It is characterized by its fusion of 1980s-inspired synthesizer sounds with the intensity and thematic elements of heavy metal, industrial, and horror film scores. The genre abandons the brighter, more optimistic nostalgia of its parent genre, Outrun, in favor of a sound and visual aesthetic rooted in cyberpunk dystopia, occultism, and ultra-violence. The Darksynth aesthetic marks a deliberate break from the bright, 80s pop-culture nostalgia of Synthwave. Its is influenced by the horror and science fiction films of the 1970s and 80s, particularly the works of director John Carpenter. Album artwork, music videos, and artist branding draw from a darker palette, utilizing imagery of cyberpunk dystopia, occult and satanic symbolism (such as pentagrams and inverted crosses), and themes of ultra-violence. This creates a cohesive "retro-noir" or "cyber-doom" atmosphere that complements the aggressive and menacing tone of the music.

Which aesthetic do you prefer?

Mallsoft

Darksynth

Voting ended onJul 11