How To Listen To Synthwave: An Introductory Course - THE NIGHT DRIVING AVENGER
Step 1: Find some.
Bet you didn't think it would be that easy, did you? Well, it is, and it's even easier than that, because I'm about to hand pick some of what I consider to be some of the finest acts the genre has to offer. I'm all about helping people out - it's why I avenge at night while driving, guys, I mean come on.
For the next (number of minutes it takes) minutes, immerse yourself in a world where the night is alive, and epic synthesizers pair with sultry saxophones and the fiercest guitar wails to bring back memories of the decade where the future was born.
The Night Driving Avenger's Top Synthwave Artists
1 - Mitch Murder
Mitch is, in my humble opinion, the undisputed master of the Synthwave genre. His work is as meticulous as it is ingenious. Mitch Murder will bring back memories of artists like Paul Hardcastle, Afrika Bambaataa, Giorgio Moroder, etc. With their inspiration guiding him, he injects their sounds with a little bit of Mega Man and Knight Rider, weaves warm, engrossing, clever songs that will stick in your head for days.
In fact, I'm not going to waste a lot of time describing Mitch Murder's music to you. You just need to hear it for yourself.
STANDOUT TRACK
Breeze
STANDOUT ALBUM
2 - Lost Years
Almost every Lost Years song pulls you from your comfortable little world and drops you into a Hollywood heist scene, in medias res. It's intense, throbbing, exhilarating music, unapologetically cinematic. Think Tangerine Dream holding an MP5 in each hand.
Lost Years is excellent music for working out, by the way. Let yourself drift off into a reality where this isn't just exercise. As the world's most dangerous assassin, you must maintain absolute peak athleticism to survive the job, and this is no ordinary job, either: this is the Big One. Or something like that. You know. You'll get it when you're listening, trust me.
STANDOUT TRACK
Converter
STANDOUT ALBUM
3 - The Midnight
The Midnight is a group that would have been top of the charts, circa 1987. Where Mitch Murder resurrects almost a fusion jazz element on some of his tracks, The Midnight is all pop, all the time. Me? Not really a pop guy. I generally find it cloying and empty. The Midnight is pop with a true soul. Sharp kicks and buzzy stabs of synth are accompanied by vocals and the creamy blare of saxophone that sends chills down your spine with every overblown note.
To be absolutely frank here, it's a real damn shame that mainstream pop doesn't sound anything like what The Midnight can produce. A recent post on their Facebook profile made mention of a desire to collaborate with Katy Perry, which might mark the only time that I would willingly listen to a Katy Perry song.
STANDOUT TRACK
Jason (Featuring Nikki Flores)
STANDOUT ALBUM
4 - Highway Superstar
Another pop-inspired addition to the list, Highway Superstar’s offerings are more instrumental and experimental than The Midnight’s, with songs that can range from jazzy, almost Calypso-Chuck Mangione style to cinematic tours-de-force akin to what Lost Years can produce. It’s Highway Superstar’s efforts with Canadian pop rebel Dana Jean Phoenix that really stand apart, though, in a way that, like The Midnight, makes you wish that the pop songs on the radio could be as fresh and inspired as Highway Superstar and Dana Jean.
STANDOUT TRACK
Night In The City (Featuring Dana Jean Phoenix)
STANDOUT ALBUM
5 - Kristine
Kristine is one of the genre’s few female producers, but she’s a true synthwave siren whose music hits you right through the heart. She’s not interested in bubblegum and boys - instead, Kristine sings songs about heartbreak, longing, and the other many pains of love. Kristine combines Giorgio Moroder-like sensibilities with a sultry croon reminiscent of Laura Branigan.
STANDOUT TRACK
The Deepest Blue
STANDOUT ALBUM
6 - Com Truise
Com Truise is his own animal. While existing firmly within the genre, Com Truise defies convention by pumping out songs with out-there, hooky syncopated drum rhythms meld effortlessly with phasey and unique synthesizer melodies. There's some Boards of Canada in there, but more than anything Com Truise's music is a synthwave acid trip, unlike anything else out there in the scene, and I can't recommend enough that you turn on, tune in, and drop a hit of Com Truise.
STANDOUT TRACK
Dreambender
STANDOUT ALBUM
7 - Perturbator
It is the future. The year: 1999. Killer robots have decimated the human population, enslaving the survivors and forcing them to become cyborg detectives in a neon cyberpunk metropolis, where the only way out is through his justice. Or something.
All of that will make sense once you listen to a Perturbator song. Intended to rhyme with “Terminator”, Parisian James Kent’s far-from-subtle injection of doom into the genre is exactly what you would listen to while writing a screenplay about time travelling man-machines on a mission to change the future. It’s no surprise that he’s a former black metal guitarist, which explains how masterfully he melds his sense for epic, sweeping, symphonic gloom with a bleak futurescape painted in sound.
Fun fact: A Perturbator song named "Night Driving Avenger" may have served some degree of inspiration for the naming of this blog. Possibly.
STANDOUT TRACK
STANDOUT ALBUM
8 - Carpenter Brut
If Perturbator is sci-fi action, Carpenter Brut is Italian horror. Menacing and dire, with operatic organs and orchestral choirs, I once heard someone describe Carpenter Brut’s music as what you would put on to make everyone else leave a dance party - but in a good way! Carpenter Brut is like if Goblin grew up watching the Friday the 13th movies.
STANDOUT TRACK
STANDOUT ALBUM
9 - Gunship
Now combine a pop sensibility with the dark sci-fi dread of Carpenter Brut, and you'll have an idea of what Gunship brings to the table. A side project of a more traditional rock band from the UK, Gunship is here to remind you that for every bright innovation the future brings, there's a black veil of mortality hanging over our heads. Perfectly gloomy, they even partner with Carpenter Brut for a remix of the standout track, Tech Noir (which are four words I will be saying in order again right now).
STANDOUT TRACKS
STANDOUT ALBUM
10 - Kavinsky
Now Kavinsky you may already know. He's probably one of the most well known artists in the genre, thanks to his prominent place in the soundtrack to the movie Drive, his collaboration with The Weeknd, and his crossover appeal with the house music scene.
It's his expertise with enthralling, buzzy hooks that make Kavinsky's songs seem like they've been ripped from the opening credits of action-packed primetime 80s action shows, and his guest vocalists bring a soulful, new jack R&B feel. In fact, I believe that the name a specific subgenre was inspired by Kavinsky's standout album, which you can find below.
Cool collection! I like!
Much appreciated!
Ahh, nice! So many recommendations to go through! I've been into this vein for a good 7-8 years now and I haven't heard of several of these. Nothing I like more than new good music suggestions in the form of mainly hidden gems. This is going to take some time to dig through!
Have you checked out much dark/cold wave stuff? If not, I have an overflowing bag of treats.
Do you mean stuff like Gost and Dan Terminus? I enjoy that stuff. What've you got?
There's so much!!! Do you use last.fm? If not, it's a wonderful tool if you enjoy exploring new corners of music like I do.
Here's some stuff I've been soundtracking my life with the past couple of days:
BOY HARSHER - PAIN
INHALT - OCCUPATIONS
ASYLUM PARTY - JULIA
That's a few off of the top of my head from the past day or two. If you're into the sound, let me know and we can trade more!
Bandcamp is a great place to discover new music, while helping musicians get paid higher rates for their music.
https://bandcamp.com/tag/synthwave
(Now if #Bandcamp would only integrate #bitcoin & other #cryptocurrency into their system, it would be HUGE!!)
I'll have a listen, thanks! I don't use Last.FM, but I do use Spotify.
https://open.spotify.com/user/1298954682
Cool!
Grab a last.fm account, you can configure spotify to "scrobble," to last.fm. Last.fm has fallen off the past few years but is still an invaluable tool for me to discover new, small, and unknown music that you'll never ever see on spotify.