Written by Ardi
If you have scrolled through Youtube’s music enough, you may see videos with titles such as “chillwave, vaporwave, retrowave,” but what do these terms actually mean? Or more importantly, what are the roots of these subgenres that has populated Youtube’s channel, seeped its contents slightly into the mainstrea
They all have one thing in common and that is their main source of inspiration, synthwave!
Synthwave is electronic music, heavily influenced by the sounds and technology of the 80s, a peek into the future from the perspective of the 80s. With visual heavy narratives, accentuated with loud colours, it makes you feel like you are sipping on a glass bottle of Pepsi by the beach while wearing a jacket with huge shoulder-pads and your ray-ban sunglasses all at once!
Pioneering artists of the genre like David Grellier (College), Kavinsky, and Justice were big fans of movies soundtracks made by likes of Carpenter, Goblin and Brad Fiedel. They made songs with elements from the movies mixed with a little bit of Nu-disco, House and synthwave was introduced to the public. It was not until 2011 that the neon-flavored movie drive with its 80s aesthetic introduced the genre to the public.
Synthwave is a mixture of two contrasting elements. In the 80s we were promised a breathtaking future with all of the modern technology that we had achieved by that time while at the same time many factories and industrial sections were closed down and there were no promising future for anyone or the whole world would just end from a nuclear bomb.
Looking at our current stage of society we can see an uncanny resemblance to that time. We have progressed extensively with our technology but the same exact thing that we believe is going to help us get to a great future is also the biggest source of public surveillance and there is not much privacy left for us.
There are many people who have much better quality of life yet there are many countries with extreme cases of poverty. Synthwave represents this paradox better than any other music genre.
During its course of development, there are other sub-genres emerging from synthwave such as vaporwave, retrowave and chillwave. Each with their own unique visuals and sounds but yet there are many overlapping areas between these music genres.
There are few artists from our local scene who have tapped into this genre and have a good set of playlist from their tracks! check them out on the list below.
Credit: Dizkopolis’s soundcloud
Established in 2010 by Ahmad Taufiq & Adi Ridhwan, this dj duo is a must-know! They are the winner of 2012 Astro Hitz with their first single “Class of ’91”. In 2017 they were selected as winners of “Remix Competition: Hollywood by Pat Lok” and had their remix released on Kitsuné Musique in the compilation “Hold On Let Go (Remixes)” alongside international acts Pat Lok, JNTHN STEIN, DIZKOPOLIS BIOGRAPHY Crackazat, Potatohead People, Fabich and more.
Credit : Dangerdisko’s official website
Shaheed Naz and Robotron 5000 are members of the Dangerdisko. Their music is like a sublime mix of nu disco, 80’s new wave, indie dance and house music together. They have Dato’ Sheila Majid as one of their significant collaborators and later on moved on to compose Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week RTW 2016’s anthem and also worked with many high end fashion brands such as Fred Perry, Hugo Boss, H&M, Topshop, Sacoor Brothers, COS and many more.
Credit: Fi7i’s facebook
His love for 80s music and Sheila Majid has changed Fi7i’s life. He wants to bring back the 80s malay music but combined with our modern sounds. His work has been published multiple times on Artzie Music’s youtube channel which has a cult following among vaporwave/synthwave lovers.
Credit: Stellar’s Dreams bandcamp
Iqwan Ridzuwan (Jake) and Khairil Shah are the minds behind Stellar Dreams. They have made their way into the European scene with their pure synthwave style and aesthetic.
