Synthwave attempts to recreate a Harold Faltermeyer or Jan Hammer soundtrack with additions from 1980s synthpop and a “cosmic spirit” borrowed from 1970s New Age music and experimental ambient like Tangerine Dream, working simple pop songs into the kind of quasi-symphonic layered and thematic environment of a movie soundtrack.
Dynatron jumps right into the middle of this genre, using period-accurate patches and samples as well as blatantly digital percussion to enwrap simple melodies which repeat with variations to establish a motif and then bring in tension through contrary narratives. A throbbing bassline powers this with high energy.
While Aeternus embraces just about every cliché from the period, it adopts these allusions and makes them into a voice of its own, allowing the songs to breathe without too many expectations. The end result delivers the hopeful and yet melancholy sound of the 1980s in a less personal and more abstract setting.
I find myself listening to much more electronic music than metal lately. Unless the metal has some dust on it, there isn’t anything too interesting coming from the genre lately. Here’s a great track from one the best 80s movies most laypeople haven’t seen or know about. Clasico
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcX0s6O0lrA
Based on your suggestion seems like you prefer dusty electronic music as well. Or is there a larger amount of interesting modern electronic music you enjoy?
All modern comes from the dust. Current electronic artists that I enjoy would be Perturbator, Carpenter Brut and Mitch Murder. Jasper Byrne and Miami Nights 1984 aren’t bad either. How about you?
I feel much the same about metal (as most do here) but my electronic tastes are a lot less refined and I’ve only recently been exploring much of it but mostly new stuff. I’ve been really enjoying a lot of the raw energy and textures of modern techno. It’s certainly not thinking man’s music but the visceral nature of it has been very appealing to me. This is one intense example https://stickygroundlabel.bandcamp.com/album/s-dem-portae-inferni-remixes-by-kaylah-kegffnayy
Much more atmospheric and moody is the music from this label
https://manikeizt.bandcamp.com/
Not sure if this is at all interesting to you but it has been really been capturing my attention recently.
I found the first one a bit jarring; but it wasn’t bad. I enjoyed the second one more. Check this out and let me know what you think: https://perturbator.bandcamp.com/
Perturbator is a metalhead and the spirit of metal comes through brilliantly is his music. I think this will also be up your alley: https://carpenterbrut.bandcamp.com/
Like Perturbator, he is a metalhead who transmits the energy of metal via electronic music. Right now, I find this vastly superior to the recycled pap passing for metal nowadays.
I’ll need to delve into Perturbator a bit more to get a real feel. I’ve only been able to give him a cursory listen. And same with Carpenter Brut. From what I got out of them though their music is very “colorful” (for lack of a better term) which seems characteristic of synthwave in general. I really enjoyed the first EP of our Singapore based artist Microchip Terror if you haven’t checked it out yet.
https://youtu.be/-rdEwBCnjcg
You are easily misguided. They are just adopting convenient part of imagery, which apparently is still powerful and attractive, but they are not genuine. Metal ideas are without any consequence with them.
Seems like retro electronic music is no different from retro metal.