Intro to Synthwave

Read More Darkwave What is it about that Darkwave/80s Sound that I love so much? Is it the synthesizers? The moody vocals? I can't put my fingers on it, I just know I really like this sound. …

For me, synthwave started with Stranger Things. In late July I went on a date with a fellow dungeon master who mentioned this show which started with some kids playing D&D (Dungeons & Dragons). I checked it out and, among other aspects of the show I was hooked by the theme song.

In September, I was at my friend's house for board games. As the games and the hours rolled by, I became more and more aware of the music that had been playing in the background. Mostly instrumental (very few vocals). All electronic. Intense rhythms and beats. The accompanying YouTube videos - cuts from Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, ultra-violent 8-bit videos, poster art or screen shots from 80's movies such as Cliffhanger or Pretty in Pink ... and Stranger Things - also sucked me in.

I was driven to distraction researching the source of this music: Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of Survive. Survive is a dark synthwave band from Austin. The song I was listening to was ‘Floating Cube’. I heard echoes of Berlin music collective Tangerine Dream. It wasn't like Tangerine Dream, but the music called Tangerine Dream to mind. Listen to it. You may hear different echoes.

My friend told me that he had just put the Stranger Things theme song on YouTube and it was going from there.