Retrowave Score
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The broad nostalgia-driven "outrun" branch of the 80s-synth revival used for screen — cruising mid-tempo grooves, lush chorused pads, DX7 bell tones, saxophone-flavored leads and airbrushed sunset atmospheres. Compared with its harder synthwave sibling, retrowave leans warmer, dreamier and more melodic, evoking Miami boulevards, arcade cabinets and VHS haze rather than menace. Cues are built on steady four-on-the-floor or gated backbeats, glossy analog-modelled synths and a deliberately vintage, tape-saturated sheen. The effect is bittersweet romance and neon escapism.
History
The retrowave/outrun aesthetic coalesced online around 2009–2012 through artists like Lazerhawk, Miami Nights 1984 and Kavinsky and netlabels such as Rosso Corsa and NewRetroWave. It found its definitive screen showcase in Le Matos's score for the Canadian throwback Turbo Kid (2015) and in the viral short Kung Fury, while FM-84 and Timecop1983 pushed the wistful, vocal-driven vein. Fed by the visual language of Drift and Hotline Miami and later amplified by Stranger Things nostalgia, retrowave became a go-to palette for period-flavored indie films, trailers and games, and remains a productive scoring style and streaming subculture.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Simon Reynolds, Retromania (2011)
- NewRetroWave and Iron Skullet retrospectives on the outrun scene
- Bandcamp Daily feature on retrowave and synthwave labels