10. Morgan Willis – Miami Calling

At 25 tracks (!), Miami Calling, the debut LP by the Frenchman Morgan Willis is a bit a of a slog to listen through in one sitting, but it’s undeniably one of the most interesting albums this year. Coming in right at the end of the year, it plays as an unabashed love letter to Miami Vice and Jan Hammer’s score, and gets us as close as possible to the 2nd part of the soundtrack of the mythical series.

9. Hyboid – Terrör of the Üniverse

An album that went largely unnoticed by the larger synthwave fandom, Hyboid’s Terrör of the Üniverse is a feat not just because it was recorded entirely with vintage synths (Oberheim DMX, Roland TR-606, CSQ-600, Juno-60, SH-09, Korg Polysix, Mono/Poly, Arp Axxe, Octave Kitten…) and effects. It’s also a window into the producer’s childlike creative mind and fascination with 70s Kraut sound and pop culture of the yore and shines a bright beacon in our often stale musical niche.

8. Makeup and Vanity Set – Brigador Opus

Makeup and Vanity Set is probably one of the most overlooked modern retrosynth (thanks Vehlinggo for making me confident to use this term more ;)) artists, especially in the increasingly crowded (and derivative) dystopian, “darkwave” subgenre. His releases stand on top of his peers, and his Brigador that came in 2 parts and an EP is definitely worth your attention if you’re into sprawling, narrative soundscapes.

7. Trevor Something – Soulless Computer Boy and The Eternal Render

After the gloomy Death Dream LP, the world sighed in relief when Trevor came out of nowhere in August 2016 with a brand new waporwave-tinged album that marks his return to more classic Trevor Something sound, but also shows his irrefutable growth as a musician. Next stop, we’d like to see some growth as a vocalist *wink*.

6. John Carpenter – Lost Themes II

John Carpenter fans squealed in unison when the Master of Horror himself showed up in 2015 to deliver a whole album of original, dark synth compositions that seemed ripped straight from some unreleased movie of his. The fans hollered in climax this year when the Master delivered a swift sequel of dark, brooding compositions that was a harbinger of a sold-out tour in summer and fall 2016.

5. Peter Zimmermann – Eine Nacht Mit Peter Zimmermann (Part I)

Anyone trying to break the boundaries of retrowave today deserves at least a shoutout, but Peter Zimmermann, a young German dude, delivers that in droves and so deserves a spot in this list. Your go-to album when you tire of the usual tropes, Eine Nacht is a mix of synth styles and feels with a tongue firmly planted in cheek.

4. Waveshaper – Station Nova

Released in April 2016, Waveshaper’s follow up to 2015’s Exploration 84 deepens the space saga this masterful producer is weaving and further cements Sweden as one of the bastions of modern synthwave. Perfect listening while landing on the Moon.

3. Robert Parker – Crystal City

Robert Parker has already established himself as one of the retrosynth names to look out for in the years past capable of hitting a wide range of styles and registers in the synthwave spectrum. Crystal City is then his flagship album, that establishes his core sound and prowess with keys and knobs. An album to make you dance – and long for the years long past at the same time –  from the first minute.

2. The Midnight – Endless Summer

A sequel to the fan-favorite Days of Thunder from 2014, Endless Summer epitomizes the most emotional, wistful of modern retrowave. Tim & Tyler are an amazing team and champions of great production values, and while the worldly charm of their vocal tracks really helps bring new audiences into our beloved music genre, personally I preferred the bare-naked brilliance of the instrumental version of the album (The Comeback Kid is perfection).

1. Atlas – FM-84

By far, the best – and one of the most anticipated (hi MN1984!) – release of the year, Atlas is a dream modern synth pop album, mixing the right amount of nostalgic wistfulness with a knack for superb production. Equally a fruit of labor of Col Bennet and Ollie Wride, the main vocalist on the album, it is a super-potent cocktail of emotion, flawless vocal delivery, clever pacing and FM-84’s signature synth work.

Honorable Mentions:

Droid Bishop – Lost In Symmetry: Just under 30 minutes, didn’t really qualify as an album, but is full of awesome.

Syntax – Transmissions:  Sequel with more chilltronica-meets-synthwave by one of the nicest guys on the scene

CONFRONTATIONAL – Kingdom of Night: Massimo Usai nurtures his sound that outgrows the boundaries of the genre and paves a way to a possible trilogy.

Ludrium – Through Sentient Eyes: Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and Cody Carpenter thrills us with each new volume in his prog rock meets 16 bit RPG meets retrosynth space opera.

Ben Businovski – Gotanda’s Maserati: Ben delivers at first glance typical italo-disco tropes with lots of style and self-awareness.

Satori in Bed – Short Notice: the master of lavish arrangements and one sexy mother ducker, Satori in Bed continues the teachings of his gone-too-soon master Prince

Absolute Valentine – Police Heartbreaker: Not many know Johann Derimme has his fingers in plethora of retrowave releases. His latest LP shows the guy has solid skills as a producer as well.

Unrelated to albums per se but I want to say big thanks to unsung heroes of the scene such as Marko Maric of Synthetix Sundays and Noah Kaufmann of Synth Waves on KFAI 90.3 who relentlessly promote our ever expanding scene!

Filip Galetic

This year,  Hungarian Synthwave Allstars join to help Táltos, a disabled  boy from Budapest. 

“Táltos was born with serious movement disability and brain damage because of the lack of oxygen during his labour. His got only one dream now: to walk on his own feet one day! 

He is waiting for two serious orthopedic surgery and a long and painful (and expensive) rehabilitation program.” –  Hungarian Synthwave Allstars Bandcamp.

First off, in what context did this newest project come into existence?
I was a child of the 80s. Although I played in metal bands, I really listened to mostly New Wave. I had always wanted to make New Wave music, but already had musical projects going that were much heavier and couldn’t find a good place to fit in. I just ended up creating lots of demos that got buried in time.

I released a Sci-Fi novel a few years ago, called “Blackstar” which was based off themes from my Celldweller album “Wish Upon a Blackstar.” I decided that I wanted to score for the novel to help people get into a vibe while they read the book. I knew this was finally my excuse to start making some of the 80s synthesizer music I had loved, so that’s what I did.

The “Blackstar” album was instrumental and after it was done I knew I wanted to take the next step and do more blatantly 80s styled music, but with vocals. Scandroid was born. Now I finally had the excuse I needed to cover “Shout” by Tears for Fears like I had been wanting to do since I heard the song on US radio in 1985. (I just finished shooting a music video for this song, which will be out mid-November.)

 So this debut album has been 3 years in the making, with the first single dating back to 2013. Why such a gap between the singles and the album release?
I was fitting Scandroid in between many other projects, so I would get a single done, then move onto a bunch of other things until I had another window to work on another song. Between my other musical projects (Celldweller & Circle of Dust) my audio software company (Refractor Audio) Clothing company (Outland) and my Record label (FiXT) there is always a lot to do. I also scored a full feature film (The Dunes) during this time as well as worked on scores for other feature films (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Out of the Shadows, The Last Witch Hunter and the upcoming Deepwater Horizon to name a few.)

Has this shift towards a new, retro-oriented aesthetic present itself as a challenging one or merely a change of atmosphere and setting?
I don’t find it as much of a challenge, but rather an oasis in my desert. I actually have so much fun creating Scandroid, because any musical restrictions I put on myself for my other projects are lifted, and I can make this anything I want. I’ve been wanting to make this music SINCE the 80s, so you can imagine how happy I was to finally hit a point in my career where I could justify doing it. The timing worked out perfectly too since there is such an incredible resurgence the 80s sound and style coming back into popular culture. If Doc Brown were here right now, I believe he’d say “GREAT SCOTT!!”

Could you tell us a little more about the changes in setup (software/hardware) you’ve had to make specifically for the needs of this project?
I was really excited to change my production arsenal for this album. I deliberately wanted to use all my hardware synthesizers and drum machines. I used my modular synthesizers a bit, but most of the sounds on the album were generated from classic synthesizers like my Roland Juno 106 and Juno 60, 2 Sequential Circuits Prophet 600s, Alesis HR16 Drum Machine and Roland System 100M. I used some of my new synthesizers as well (Dave Smith and Tom Oberheim OB-6, Korg MS20 Mini  & Yamaha Reface CS, which is a recreation of the classic CS-80 made popular in Vangelis’ “Blade Runner” score.)

I used a few of my old cassette 4 tracks for sound design, which i’ve missed quite a bit. Everything does sound so digital now that I had forgotten all the things I loved (and hated) about cassettes. I cracked out a bunch of old guitar pedals too for some live guitar and basslines on the album.

I didn’t do much sound design with software at all. Most software was just for mixing, like EQs and Reverbs. The beautiful part of it was I would dial in a sound and then record it in. I couldn’t change it much after that so it forced me to commit to my decisions, which helped me write the songs more quickly than normal.

The album seems to carry a few underlying themes throughout. Can you elaborate a little more about what the album is about? Would it be fair to call this a concept-record?
It would be fair to say that. I never start thinking “I’m going to make a concept album” but unfortunately I can’t help but create worlds. Since my childhood I’ve had a very active imagination and when I started making music I was creating sounds for imaginary visuals that I was seeing in my head. World building was something I naturally gravitated towards when I created music so my albums generally do tend to be themed and conceptual.

I have a few storylines on the album. A main character “Red” (who happens to be my clone, 500 years in the future.) He lives in old Tokyo and Neo–Tokyo is a rebuilt version of the city that hovers above old Tokyo. Only the elite and rich can afford to live in Neo-Tokyo so Red, walks the empty streets of old Tokyo, surviving alone. He finally does meet his love interest, Aphelion and a few songs are interactions between them. At the same time the common worker androids of the day hit a critical moment in time, where one android ATOM 7K becomes sentient. He then seeks to wake another android, E.E.V. so together they can begin waking the other androids from their robotic slumber, freeing them from the slavery the humans have put them under. Unfortunately it sounds a lot more trite when I type out these descriptions, but when you listen to the album it will make much more sense 🙂

Given your multiple active projects, what can one expect from Klayton after the release of this record?
I’ve just finished a new album for my first musical project I had in the 90s “Circle of Dust.” It’s a much more guitar oriented album, with it’s roots in industrial music, which I loved in the 80s & 90s as well.

There will be a new Scandroid release in 2017.  I’ve already got great remixes from Waveshaper, Dance with the Dead, GosT, Pylot, Daniel Deluxe and Dnotive. I am working on some brand-new unreleased tracks and will be releasing what I hope to be a full length album mid next year.

There are a few Celldweller singles awaiting release and full documentary “Start of an Empire” which documents the making of my last Celldweller album “End of an Empire.” There is film score work coming up for me as well, which will keep me busy. Never a dull moment in my world and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂

To finish off : Could you name (one of) your favorite Album, Movie and Book?
Favorite album, The Cure – Disintegration
Favorite Movie – Blade Runner
Favorite Book – Dune by Frank Herbert

Synopsis:

When Eli starts talking to the wrong girl, he accidentally lands himself in a high stakes match against the arcade’s baddest racer. Winner gets to stay, but the loser leaves the arcade for good.

In 1996, Marshall was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of excellence and innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television. Marshall was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame for his contributions to the field of television in 1997. In 2012, he was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Marshall received the Valentine Davies Award (1995) and Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement (2014) from the Writers Guild of America.

Marshall was also an actor, making his television acting debut starting as a child with a recurring role inThe George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1950–58), appearing in Murphy Brown and in such films as Soapdish, On the Lot, and provided a guest-starring voice for The Simpsons episodes Eight Misbehavin’ andHomer the Father. He also appeared in two episodes of Happy Days as a drummer.

His theater credits included Wrong Turn at Lungfish, which he wrote in collaboration with Lowell Ganz, The Roast with Jerry Belson, Shelves and Happy Days: A New Musical with Paul Williams, which had its premiere at the Falcon Theater in Burbank, California, February 24, 2006. He portrayed the role of “director” on Burbank’s “Lights… camera… action!” float in the 2014 Rose Parade.

R.I.P.

I started out playing bass in a rock band when I was a kid. And I have always been playing in bands.

In 2006/2007 I started composing music and creating sound design for broadcast and TV. It was really fun and I learned lot. But at some point I wanted to create my own music…where I was the ONLY boss. So I started Code Elektro around 2012. And I was lucky enough to find a label that wanted to release my music (Iceberg Records).

In 2014 I released my first album, Superstrings…which was really well received. It was nominated for a Gaffa Award for Best Electronic Danish Release. And after a few months it was selling really well…considering nobody knew who I was when I released it…haha!

A few months ago I released my second album and I’m really excited about how well it has been received.

You have to be passionate about what you do – otherwise it will be too much frustration etc….and you will be too sensitive about all the people who will tell you why you can’t do it.

Who are some of your main musical influences?

Daft Punk, John Carpenter, Cliff Martinez, Michael McCann, Junkie XL, Juno Reactor, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis to name a few.

What drew you to synthwave? 
I love the emotional quality of synthwave – and I grew up in the eighties. But I think that the Code Elektro sound universe is a little more ‘dirty’ – all though you can hear the 80s and 70s in the tracks.

There’s a movement towards the 80s right now. We saw that with TRON:Legacy, DRIVE, Beyond the Black Rainbow, Mr. Robot, Halt and Catch Fire – and now Stranger Things on Netflix.

Why “Code Elektro”? 
Good question! I like to think of it as some kind of electronic codex – or code of electronic music…I was very inspired by the MATRIX when I started out.

What programs and equipment do you use when producing?
I use a few guitars, basses and hardware synths. For plugins I really like the U-He Zebra, Satin and DIVA. Also the new Reaktor is amazing – I really like the modular synth approach…but it’s not always an easy way.

I use Cubase as my main DAW for Code Elektro on the mac (although I also work in Protools, Reason and Ableton).  I have been working in Cubase so long that I don’t have to think too much about what I want. And also Cubase has some great features I think.

I have been using my old Roland JX3P. It has a great sound and thanks to my PG200 programmer it’s pretty easy to play around with. I have also used a Moog Subphatty for basses and leads….it just sounds so awesome and massive – and it has almost no presets so you have to create your own sounds…but make sure you have a lot of time!

How do you approach creating a song – what is your process? 
I usually have some kind of specific feeling or story that I would like to create with music. I could also be thinking about a scene from a movie…the opening sequence from the movie BLADE always inspires me somehow.

Do you have any special production techniques?
I’m doing a lot of cutting up audio and trying to use it in a new way. I usually play around and record some stuff on a synth or guitar. And afterwards I chop it up, reverse it or some other weird stuff…and add effects…just to see if there come some new ideas.

But after the mixing is done I want someone else to do the final mastering in a dedicated mastering studio. Using a mastering studio with great acoustics, speakers and awesome analog gear always helps…and also it’s great to have another set of ears around. And I trust that Joel Krozer (the mastering engineer on “Wolf” and “Superstrings”) has a great taste and an understanding for where I would like to take the sound.

Your new album deals with nature themes, and somehow manages to create similar earthy tones. How did you select instruments in order to bring about those tones and themes?
Yes the sound of “Wolf” is more earthy for exactly that reason. I have been using a lot of more organic sounds for this album. The previous album, “Superstrings”, had a cleaner sound.

One way is like you said to use more organic sounding electronic sounds – or make them sound organic and unique.

Another way to get it more “organic” is to record live and not always quantize it 100%. Let the music live a little. Also it goes back to recording instruments and all kinds of sounds…taking it out of the computer sometimes. Embrace the mistakes (to a certain point).

What music do you listen to outside of electronic genres?
I like a lot of music. Almost every genre. But if I should pick one it would be rock music. I also play guitar and bass.
This is going to sound weird but I’m really into classic rock and metal. Like Led Zeppelin AC/DC, Whitesnake, Guns N Roses, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the Machine, Clawfinger.

It seems you’re heavily influenced by cyberpunk and sci-fi film and literature – what are some of your favorites?
Yes! The great thing about science fiction is that it’s great at discussing these universal questions: what does it mean to be human – and how do we use technology etc. And I think that Blade Runner, The Matrix, Alien and Moon are doing that great.

Do you have any future projects in the works? What can we expect next?
Right now I’m still busy with the “Wolf” album (promotion, interviews etc). But maybe I will start working on something new in the fall.

WOLF is OUT NOW!

DC are upping their game and promise to deliver an EPIC 6 part comic book series on pure awesomeness. This is great news for DC fand and Thundercat/ He-Man fans alike. Finally, a crossover that we can really lose our hats to!

More info HERE

            Korean cinema has contributed some of the grittiest and most thrilling Neo-noirs, action and horror movies we’ve seen since the golden era of 70’s-80’s Hollywood. Films like Na Hong-jin’s The Chaser, The Yellow Sea and 2016’s The Wailing; Kim Jee-woon’s A Bittersweet Life and I Saw the Devil; and Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, Thirst, Stoker, Snowpiercer and the upcoming The Handmaiden(2016). They’ve even redefined what you can achieve with animated features (in my opinion) after viewing Yeon Sang-ho’s The King of Pigs and The Fake. 

            So when I after viewing the trailer for Seoul Searching and discovering that a local theater was hosting screenings, I was all in. A South Korean teenage romantic comedy was too much of a possible good time that I had to go see for myself. And it was an uplifting good old fashioned retro fun time. 

 The film is directed by Benson Lee and premiered as an official selection at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Taking place in 1986, the story follows a group of Korean High Schoolers from different countries participating in a government sponsored summer program to learn about their Korean heritage and culture. 

            The reason for so many Korean youth being scattered around the globe is a result of the post Korean War turmoil that forced out hundreds of families to other countries; escape poverty and civil war. According to the beginning narration, the summer program was discontinued by the government due to the difficulties of teaching Korean values on young people who have already assimilated to western cultures. 

            Seoul Searching is everything you loved about classic John Hughes films and all those teenage summer comedies from the 80’s like Summer Rental, One Crazy Summer, Meatballs, Porky’s, The Wild Life, Fraternity Vacation and all those like them. It shows an authentic look at teenage life, insecurities and juvenile pursuits of a good time. The characters are all fleshed out and relatable. The humor is on point and jovial. 
    

  The key word is “innocence”. Seoul Searching reminded me of a time when I was actually innocent and unjaded; the point when my teenage life was ending and the unknown realities of adulthood were approaching. It reminded me about my friendships and all the hijinks we got into at that age. The sneaking around into the girl’s dormitory, smuggling cigarettes and alcohol and late night reconnaissance missions into night clubs and bars. 

            But don’t think this film is just laughs. There is some real sincere heart here. Each character goes on their individual arcs and each individual feels real and you feel it with them. There were points in the film where I heard audience members actually crying. And you know what I teared up too at some scenes. It’s a well shot, well written piece of art about growing up that had me feeling for the characters and I wanted more. I wanted to see more of what they did during that summer. And when it was over, the only thing I wanted was for them to keep in touch with each other and remain friends. Yeah, it got to me. I laughed, I teared up and I felt good about it. 

Oh, did I mention that the soundtrack is fantastic. Every song fits its scene and gives you a nice kick to your retro-heart strings. 

            I’m not kidding. This movie was a joy to watch and I’d watch it again if I can. I’d buy it if I can find it. It’s that good and I know you all will love it too. 

            Check your local theaters and search on fandango or the internet for theaters screening Seoul Searching [www.seoulsearchingthemovie.com] and go see it. Love it. 

            Stay fresh, stay classy and keep your fingers on that rewind button. 

– You’ve recently just released the Motion Picture Soundtrack to Saman Kesh’s short film Hit TV. To start things off, how did this project start out?

Stephane Elfassi, the film’s producer, reached out to me. I was at PAX in Seattle. He sent me production material and a mixtape that Saman had put together. Saman and I talked a lot before the film was in production about how he interpreted the material and the context of the film. I think we had a similar feeling that the “80s” concept has been pretty well wrung out. Saman wanted to make something that was more emotionally attached and detached at the same time. The film was interesting to me because it had a really extreme contrast between the sort of ‘beaches and neon’ aspect of the world he was creating and something really violent and unbearable. I tried to work from the perspective of the later.

– With your work on 88:88, your score acted as a complement expanding upon the films’ narrative. With this release, there’s an apparent narrative intention that runs through the tracks. You also mention that the release is meant to be listened to continuously. How does the record fit into Saman Kesh’s film narrative?

I wanted to come away from the film with a record that lived pretty firmly in Saman’s world. 88:88 was sort of coming out of the short and imagining the narrative of the character and where she would go from there. With Hit TV, the idea was more just expanding the world from the inside. I would watch the film over and over again and think about what’s going on outside the wall or before these people show up to kill each other. I wanted to explore the desperation of knowing that time was running out. A short is going to machine gun through those narratives because you’re fighting against the clock. With the record, I just tried to let the darker pieces expand a little bit.

– I understand that a good deal of the music was largely written before the movie had even been shot. What was your approach to Saman Kesh’s directives to writing the music?

I wrote three or four long form tracks for Saman before he shot the film. Those were based solely on the script and our conversations. Every film is different. For me the major struggle is always interpreting the work and then interpreting the director’s interpretation of the work. There are times when that feels like you’re trying to hit a moving target. Saman was great though. He required a lot of work from me but he also knew my catalog exhaustively. He knew what he wanted with regards to the emotion of the thing. The screening at SXSW helped shape a lot of the music narratively. We had lots of discussion after that screening that was extremely honest and collaborative. It informed the work and made it better.

– Were there any directions that you tried to stay clear of, with regards to your previous releases or to movies with a similar visual aesthetic?

A film like this one could have easily been wall-to-wall ‘synthwave.’ I don’t think that anyone on the production wanted that though. The real touchstone for me throughout was probably Mann’s ‘Thief.’ I wanted to make sure that the music and the film existed together emotionally; that it wasn’t just a playlist. The film is so aesthetically dense. Layering over that with drum heavy tracks would’ve been a waste. I focused a lot on the female character, Julia. I tried to have a piece of her in everything, to keep it grounded.

– A lot of your music seems to carry a backbone related to a visual medium, be it with film or with video games. What do you think accounts for this tendency?

It’s more just that I’m a visual person. My parents were both visually creative people. I had planned to go to film school. Film is far more of an influence on me than music at this point. Even on something like Brigador, there are all of these other creative people involved doing different things and everyone is adding to that work as a whole. It can be pretty blinding to try to hold your own weight working with so many smart people, but I feel like I work best when there’s a fire burning under my feet.

– For those who do not know yet, could you clarify what the plans are for Hit TV after the release of the film and album? Should we expect some more work from your behalf on Hit TVs’ later developments?

At this point Hit TV has it’s toes in the water. It would be great to see what Saman could do with a 90 minute film version. Whether I’m writing for it or just watching it as a fan, I’d be pretty pumped either way. I know he has big plans for it. Time will tell.

– Your approach as a musician is a particularly interesting one : on one side there’s the radically new-school approach to your music with your strong presence on social media, Soundcloud, bandcamp, tumblr and net label Telefuture. On the other hand you’ve grown a strong attachment to the retro aesthetic and its analog media, preferring Vinyl and cassette pressings rather than CDs. Considering that your experience with electronic music predates the internet boom, what is it that draws you towards towards the modern internet community-based approach?

It’s probably less of a retro trend for me and more the fact that tape and vinyl sound beautiful. Both mediums wind up with a self-imposed layer of noise and it’s different in every instance. That’s appealing to me because it means everyone who buys it gets the surface noise with it. The fact that I started when I was young, I had that experience as a consumer before digital music was how everyone bought music. I don’t think it would be possible for me to have this conversation right now without something like Bandcamp or Soundcloud. Bandcamp enables any kid anywhere to make something and put it up online whenever they like. That’s insane when you think about it. So when I get emails and messages, when I’m not slammed with work, I try really hard to respond to everyone. There’s a ton of kids out there who are soaking up everything around them and are going to be 100 times better than me.

– Since you started playing around 1996, electronic music has been through a considerable amount of changes and developments. Have you been keeping track of it all and what is your perspective on its developments?

In 96, I was listening to non-stop IDM. I was playing guitars and bass with friends in garages, but my brain was locked into figuring out how to make IDM. I started buying synthesizers. I think the year I went to college, Kid A came out. Discovery came out. I think DrukQs came out somewhere in there. It was a weird year because the mainstream arc was changing. Everyone was doing drugs. Warp was releasing hip hop records. Zoot Woman put their first record out. Electroclash became a thing. Everyone was listening to Fischerspooner. I moved to LA. Everyone was into Chromeo. DFA happened. I was buying more synthesizers. My goal was to try to get into Mills College in Oakland and make music that sounded like pencil sharpeners for the rest of my life.

With that in hindsight, Synthwave is just a thing that leads to another thing. I can spend a lot of time on youtube learning to make the perfect synth bass with Massive, but that doesn’t help me find my voice. That’s what people respond to. I like that the last year has seen a lot of really crazy “synthwave” records. I love that Dallas Campbell and Ogre are making longform, totally analog records. Blood Music has had a ton of success with the heavier end of the spectrum. Then you have guys like Com Truise with Ghostly making super visible, solid work. And even after all of that, I get a lot of links from people who are making really crazy, original synth-based music. That stuff, regardless of whether you think it’s good or not, it all has it’s own voice.

– To briefly dip into some nerdier subject matters. What kind of waveform synthesis techniques do you prefer to use?

It depends a lot on the project. For Hit TV, it was a lot of analog hardware. Lots of Moog. The new Mother-32 is all over that record. I used this new reverb by Meris, the Mercury 7. It just sort of haunts everything you put through it. At the same time, there’s a bit of FM on there as well- the DX7. Nothing quite sounds like that synth. It’s cold and dead. I worked for Native Instruments in LA years and years ago. FM8 is great, but there’s something really special about the actual hardware. It’s always a hugely inspiring piece of gear to me.

–    What is your stance on emulation software? Do you have a particular leanings or preferences towards Hardware/Software ? Analog/Digital?

 I use both. I don’t care. Pilotpriest told me years and years ago that none of that stuff really matters as long as the notes are good. He was right.

– Could you name (one of) your favorite albums, movies and books?

Current favorite album is probably the soundtrack to Sicario by Jóhann Jóhannsson. He’s a genius. That’s a genius work. The way he uses distortion on that record is brilliant. Everyone is sort of ripping that off now.

I’ve been watching Tarkovsky quite a bit lately since it has related a lot to a couple films I’m scoring at the moment. Solaris is the one. It’s just so so good. Tarkovsky will also bleed into everything I do I think. He said so much using so little.

One of my favorite books is probably Bosworth’s Diane Arbus biography. I read a lot of Gibson but I love non-fiction, specifically biographies about creative people. Arbus was one that I really could relate to on many many levels. It stays with me.

Interview by Robin ONO

Written by Rhys Pearce

rh*********@**********ve.com

Rhys Pearce is a Musician and Writer from the United Kingdom. 

Released via Ghostly International on April 1st, Silicon Tare is the new E.P from synthwave supremo, Com Truise. It’s the 3rd chapter in a trilogy of music released by Com Truise (Aka Seth Haley) serving as the soundtrack to Haley’s tale of a synthetic astronaut and his journey through space.

The 5 track E.P is spacious and musically bitching and here we further explore some of Com Truise’s familiar synth wizardry, as well being treated to some new sounds and killer beats along the way. The E.P’s second track, ‘Forgive’ absolutely knocked my socks off when I first heard it and left me covered in goose pimples. When you write about music so frequently you live for those very moments, the ones that remind you of how truly powerful and moving someone’s musical vision can be. That’s not taking anything from the other tracks, all of which pack their own punches and are equally an immersive and enjoyable experience.

Its lead single ‘Diffraction’ wasn’t initially well received by the internet’s general populous, although it appears the release of the full length has since hindered the aggressive views of some of the internet’s half-witted keyboard warriors. This is often familiar territory with any artist that is responsible for a pivotal record and in Com Truise’s case, it was 2011’s ‘Galactic Melt’, which many hail as one of the great’s of the new synthwave movement.  Unfortunately for the artist, this kind of success is often a double edge sword and many will only ever use it as a way to unfairly scrutinise the musician.

For me personally, I always look forward to new material from Com Truise. He has the gift for subtly adapting his sound on each new release and will undoubtedly find a way to knock you on your ass with some truly memorable hooks. Whatever you search for in one of Haley’s records, you will find it here amongst these 5 songs. The only downside I could find was that there weren’t more songs,  but that’s what the repeat button is for, right?. May he continue to inspire and provide the ultimate soundtracks to our daydreams, long live the Truise!