Synthwave

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Synthwave
Stylistic origins Synthpop • Electro house • Video game music • Italo disco • Film soundtrack
Cultural origins Mid-2000s
Typical instruments Synthesizer, digital audio workstation, drum machine
Regional scenes
Europe, Canada, North America, Asia

Synthwave, also known as 80's Retro Revival or simply Retro Electro, is a form of electronic music that takes most of its inspiration from synth music and pop culture from the 1980s. As the name literally suggests, synthwave is the shortening of synthpop and new wave. Musically, synthwave is often instrumental and has a futuristic theme, with large, throbbing, retro synths. house influenced heavy drums (often side-chained) are also very present. Inspiration for synthwave comes from a variety of genres that originated in the 1980s, including synthpop, progressive electronic, italo-disco, electro-disco and other derivative styles.

Overview

Synthwave albums are generally arranged in a style similar to a film score, television music or video game music. Its instrumental nature and soundtrack-inspired style of musical arrangement take synthwave apart from more pop-accessible or dance club-oriented related genres such as synthpop and italo-disco. Visual elements of synthwave are important as well. Album covers are heavily influenced by 1980s films (especially science-fiction and action movies, such as Blade Runner or The Terminator), TV shows (specifically Miami Vice and Knight Rider), video games (notably Out Run and similar titles), and other important elements of 1980s culture.

History

Synthwave is often similar in style to (and draws influence from) the electronic film soundtracks of artists such as Wendy Carlos, Giorgio Moroder, Tangerine Dream and John Carpenter. However, the direct origins of synthwave can be traced back to French electro house scene in the mid-2000s. Artists combined many styles including synthpop and electro/breakbeat music with elements of late 1970s to early 1990's electronic music, particularly electronic film soundtracks. The synthesizers used typically reflect the sound of film music that was in vogue during this time period. The album covers, CD booklets and music videos for this genre typically feature brightly colored 1980s inspired artwork to represent an image of nostalgia. Many French producers, such as College, Anoraak and Minitel Rose began producing this style of music. There also have been synthwave soundtracks in films such as Drive, as well as video games like Hotline Miami and Ubisoft's Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. These soundtracks, particularly that of Drive, are associated with media that has been a major influence on the fashion, visual media and popular musical styles of the 2010s, and all have sparked a large amount of popular interest in the synthwave genre of electronic music.

Since then, many record labels have been set up dedicated to this sound, and a slew of producers have emerged from around the world, as the scene continues to flourish.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.