Synthwave
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Synthwave is modern electronic music that rebuilds the emotional language of 1980s film scores, arcade games, action soundtracks, synth-pop, and electro through contemporary production. It favors analog-style arpeggios, pulsing basslines, gated snares, big melodic leads, and cinematic atmosphere. Depending on the artist, it can become romantic, horror-driven, cyberpunk, pop-facing, metal-adjacent, or purely instrumental.
History
The scene developed from French electro, the Valerie Collective, retro soundtrack fandom, and online communities sharing tracks through blogs, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Bandcamp. Kavinsky, College, Mitch Murder, Miami Nights 1984, Lazerhawk, Perturbator, Carpenter Brut, FM Attack, Timecop1983, The Midnight, Gunship, Power Glove, and Waveshaper shaped the canon. Drive, Hotline Miami, NewRetroWave, Stranger Things, The Rise of the Synths, and label/playlist ecosystems turned synthwave from a micro-scene into a globally recognized style.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Bandcamp Daily NewRetroWave profile
- Bandcamp Daily synthwave lists
- Pitchfork Kavinsky review
- Lakeshore/Rise of the Synths profile