hey! new-ish follower here. i'm enjoying your archives, especially the musical spots. you and I seem to share similar musical tastes. I have a query. do you have a favorite type of non-lyrical music that you regularly enjoy? i listen to a lot of chill lo-fi, and I'm looking for something a little noisier to accompany me and keep me awake through a daily hour-and-a-half commute to my job. thanks in advance!
GOOD GOD, anon!!! An hour-and-a-half commute you say!!? Alright, come here. Show me your neck and hold as still as humanly possible... I'm gonna have to power-inject your jugular with 20 cc's of SYNTHWAVE, stat! I enjoy a bit of lo-fi as well when I'm writing or painting, but we've got to make sure you don't have a narcoleptic seizure on a highway and invent the newest American 50-car pileup! As it happens, I've very recently discovered Skylane Drive through Spotify algorithms. This should be just the audio dose you need to prevent your anonymous ass from careening into a local school bus during a chill lo-fi fit of cataplexy. Immediately smash play on Doomseeker above and join me down below for some more details on this powerful subgenre of modern electronic mastery.
Synthwave is, by a country ass mile, my very favorite form of electronic music. Strangely, it reminds me of my childhood because I came up in the 1980’s when this same type of music was utilized for lots of mindless action/horror flicks and 8 to 32-bit classic video games. Its modern music steeped in a sleek retro style and makes me nostalgic for the soundtracks to a lot of middle-aged media. It’s a pulse-pounding sound that often literally pumps with a kind of mechanical intensity. The subgenre itself is heavily influenced by 80’s-style rock and metal, and the heavy reverb on the drums is pretty much always present and accounted for. A good synthwave tune or album establishes an epic and immersive cinematic atmosphere drenched in an often-soaring and always-emotionally volatile feeling. Every synthwave tune should feel like different chapters in a neon-lit retro futuristic story. It’s always fun to listen to due to its over-the-top characteristics, and I can attest that it is the BEST DRIVING MUSIC I have had the luck to come across, especially when played loud during a nighttime drive through or around a glowing city. Another great thing about this type of melody is that the people behind the music production are making it just because they love making it. There’s no pretense to it, there’s no corporate bullshit within it, and no pursuit of fame or making millions because almost no one really listens to this stuff on a regular basis. It’s just a pure, uncorrupted form of contemporary composition. I don’t know much about Skylane Drive, but I can tell you it’s some of the best and HARDEST synthwave I’ve discovered recently. In the interest of digging up a little info about this act; it’s either a single guy or a duo operating out of NYC Metro who are obsessed with 80’s/90’s/00’s film scores. That’s about all the research I was willing to do for this post because anon’s question was about a type of music, not about a particular group or band. For variety purposes, I’ve installed my favorite song from a similar act called Gunship below, it’s called The Mountain and it’s from their self-titled 2015 album. I won’t go into details, but Gunship is British, and they were my personal introduction to a more vocalized version of this same style. I fell in love with synth in general instantly because of their amazing work. If you like the tunes on this post, I recommend you also check out the works of TimeCop1983, Kavinsky or FM-84. Turn the volume on your ear buds all the way up, smash play and enjoy dear listener!
Synthwave isn’t just a type of music, it’s a whole artistic aesthetic as well. Its overall style always includes bright neon colors, lots of digital grid lines, lined sunsets and sports cars. I love this stuff, the whole presentation makes me feel like a little kid again. Image source: "Synthwave 80s Vaporwave aesthetic #1" Poster for Sale by RESToRAPTOR | Redbubble
