One thing that is for sure is that Kavinsky has definitely cozied up to the Synthwave genre and the love it has given him over the past decade. If anything, Reborn very much feels like the exact comeback album that the Retrowave scene has been wanting to hear from him for all of these years, the very album some may have built a name on by attempting to produce.

The main issue one may address about the album is that whereas past releases helped flesh out a new retro retro aesthetic, Reborn does little if anything to expand this universe further. The steady pace that is maintained throughout most of its 47 minute runtime eventually flattens out the impact of the album’s main singles and further instills the impression of a driver cruising on autopilot. Furthermore, the vocal performances more or less blend together seamlessly whilst not quite living up to the grandeur of Belorgey’s past hit singles. ‘Goodbye’ featuring Sébastien Tellier stands out in its attempt to evoke the raspy, robotic vocal effect of ‘Night Call’, but feels ultimately dwarved by its predecessor.

Ultimately, Reborn stands on firm ground as a tribute to Belorgey’s retrowave legacy, adds a couple of new cuts to your Outrun playlist but doesn’t quite hold the sense of ambition needed to stand out from its peer releases and lead the retrowave sound to new horizons.

Kavinsky Reborn is out now.

After nearly early years of waiting, Vincent Belorgey’s undead night drifter persona has once again risen to deliver some high speed, French thrills.

Renegade hits off with a violent, slapping beat on a steady groove and features a grandiose, larger-than-life chorus delivered by Brooklyn-based musician and producer Cautious Clay. After Daft Punk and Gesaffelstein’s big singles featuring The Weeknd, ‘Renegade’ firmly sets the upcoming comeback record Reborn in this new decade of Rnb-driven French touch production whilst retaining the core Kavinsky blueprint.

The Parisian producer even appears to start off this new chapter with a nod to his genre-defining debut album with the line “I’m on the run with you”.

If that’s anything to go by, it looks like the new Kavinsky record is going to deliver all that the retrowave scene has been yearning for the past decade.

Now rejoice, tune in and groove out to the sound of a king back on his throne.

Kavinsky ‘Renegade’ is out now on all streaming platforms.

Favourite Tracks: Renegades, Pursuit

Sung ‘Archium Drive’ is out now on Spotify and Bandcamp.

A new single titled “Renegade” is scheduled to drop one month from now, on November 19^th 2021. The newly unveiled teaser image also unveils that a full-length effort is also on the way. The aptly titled ‘Reborn’ would serve as the artist’s sophomore album and his first release in over eight years.

Die-hard fans will be delighted to find that Kavinsky has stayed true to retro aesthetic that marked his first few releases. The teaser poster is an obvious nod to James Cameron’s Terminator 2, and features Belorgey in his old red-eyed blue zombie persona.

All signs seem to point at a grand return for the producer and a historic moment for the Synthwave scene, and although one month is but the briefest amount of time in the grand scheme of things, the anticipation is sure to make this next month a long one.

From their early days as an art-punk act to their commercial breakthrough as one of electropop’s most celebrated acts, Chromatics have built themselves a legacy that is sure to resonate through the decades to come, particularly within the retrowave scene.

Whether it be for their production, their visuals or simply their nostalgia-infused, dreamy songs, the band has made an indelible mark on the Synthwave scene as one of the great acts people will dream to have witnessed live.

Whatever the reasons may be behind the breakup, we certainly hope we’ll be hearing more from Adam, Ruth, Nat and Johnny very soon.

Quixotic has been producing synth for years starting around 2011, if not earlier. In all of that time he’s been refining his sound – and that wait has paid off.

“Flamingo Drive-In”  features a variety of synth genres, from italo to dreamwave and darksynth with righteous shredding throughout. Every track on this epic debut is perfectly produced as well, polished like a pure beam of neon jutting straight into our souls.

Recently Lazerpunk has even taken to the inter tubes to preach on this fanatically grand debut, singing high praises for Quixotic in general as well.

“…Quixotic is seriously one of the best guys I know, and probably THE best music producer….he is finally releasing his LP, which I was begging for him to do since forever. I remember doing phonecalls with him at 3am, talking about music for hours, and trying to convince him to just do it, let go of his perfectionism, just release it finally, but it was useless. And I’m not surprised or disappointed, as I knew from the start that he will only release this album once it is perfect.”

Check out this gem on bandcamp here.

All in all, Mystvries is set to be a name to watch coming up! Check out his debut below – out now via Bribery Corporation!

As her first firm step into the spotlight with an eleven track full-length, NINA plays to her strengths. In other words, Sleepwalking amounts to pretty much what you were first led to expect from the One of Us EP: a concise, catchy pop record driven by the sounds of eighties synths and beats. Just about every aspect of the record radiates with references to the eighties aesthetic, supercharged with modern techniques to sound and look bigger, brighter and more glossy. Of course, this certainly isn’t new to the Synthwave aesthetic. As a matter of fact, some might argue that this approach is intrinsic to the genre. What does stand out Sleepwalking, however, is the skill and rigour with which these tracks are crafted to sound this way. NINA’s Sleepwalking is to eighties music what K-pop is to American pop music. Stylistic conventions are picked apart and techniques are internalised and down to a science to filter every single element down to its most potent form.

Synthwave fans will have a hard time finding a release in the genre that comes close to Sleepwalking’s impeccably clean, punchy production. The thumping beats, the colorful synth layers and the vocals all blend together organically to create a vivid, cinematic ‘neo-retro’ atmosphere and experience. NINA’s voice is radiant, her melodies irresistibly catchy and her performance spot-on throughout the entirety of the record. Every single track on the record feels like a lead single: from the opener right down to the last song, the album stays geared towards maximum efficiency and does a great job at maintaining the energy throughout its eleven numbers.

As though the album covers and the clear nod to Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive didn’t make it obvious enough, Sleepwalking is a driving record, steadily paced so that you can jam to it on a lonesome nighttime cruise across asphalt jungles and starlit highways without having to ever skip a track. Alas, the album’s ‘driving’ pace does narrow the records’ sound down a little too much, as the steady the side-chained kick pulse ends up being a little too constant. Rhythm and tempos fluctuate smoothly but timidly, which may leave some yearning for a sudden gear shift to pump up the adrenaline.

A few louder, cathartic moments on the album could have helped spice things up, though that is not to say that what Sleepwalking does is not done brilliantly. Overall, NINA’s first full-length effort amounts to a very solid set of instantly likeable pop songs that spares nuance yet delivers a deeply immersive experience. Turn it up but drive responsibly.

10. Molchat Doma – S Krish Nashih Domov

This Molchat Doma sound is a virtuoso mix of Alphaville, New Order and The Cure. almost every track on this album feels iconic in a familiar, but also foreign way. Although it is sung entirely in Slavic, the sad, nostalgic themes still resonate deeply.

9. Kalax – Kalax

A new, enhanced retro feel makes this truly dreamy dreamwave feel much more nostalgic than the previous releases from Kalax – almost wistful at times. The result is an astounding release of synthwave that bears a beautiful cinematic quality like Kavinsky or College.

8. Mega Drive – The Grid

This dark and futuristic album perfectly embodies cyberpunk. The dense, uptempo tracks meld perfectly with ambient features on this album, creating a complete soundscape for some mysterious dystopian city.

7. ALEX & Tokyo Rose – AKUMA

ALEX and Tokyo Rose perfectly compliment one another’s style on this groundbreaking darkwave/outrun album.  In spite of being dark, “Akuma’s” melodies feel more retro than it’s contemporaries, creating a rare form of nostalgia.

6. FM attack – Stellar

While his previous albums drew heavily from disco and had a more upbeat and dance feel, “Stellar” is steeped in postpunk and new wave vibes. This updated sound is unique and fantastic, creating a more wistful and nostalgic feel to the signature FM Attack sound.

5. HOME – Resting State

This interesting album is comprised of an astounding 35 demo tracks. In spite of this, they manage to be just as interesting and full-bodied as much of his more fleshed out work. If these are just demos, we can’t wait to hear whats coming next!

4. Various Artists – Magnatron 2.0

Powerful and dark, this compilation manages to be cohesive in spite of containing 16 very different and monstrously amazing artists.

3. Com Truise – Iteration

“Iteration” signals a tonal shift from Haley’s previous work. It feels more lachrymose and less hard sci-fi than his previous releases. This does not feel arrived at by way of nostalgia but instead from melancholy and heartbreak – a fitting end to a long journey.

2. Dan Terminus – Automated Refrains

This album is one of the darkest, most complex we’ve heard all year. Dan Terminus manages to elicit complex nostalgic melodies and a pitch-perfect retro-futuristic vibe through HEAVY synths – an accomplishment to be lauded. Top it off with a couple lighter, almost ambient tracks and you have a well rounded and well deserved top spot for “Automated Refrains.”

 

1. Lazerhawk – Dreamride

The synthwave demigod has returned in full force. Dreamrider suffuses Lazerhawk’s years of producer expertise and creates a thoroughly complete body of work that is in every way more than the sum of its parts. Lazerhawk’s mastery of the form is undeniable.

Special Mentions

Master Boot Record  – INTERRUPT REQUEST

Meteor – Inner Demon

Then there’s Miami Vice Remix.

Miami Vice Remix is a 5-issue series from IDW Publishing by Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood. The art style of Remix very quickly establishes its identity as something unique and not an uninspired reboot. The harsh edges and angles evokes German Expressionism of the 1920’s, albeit bathed in a lush neon glow. It makes the setting appear simultaneously modern and retro, but never appears redundant.

The story follows the ethos of the artwork and moves at a blistering pace. While it may seem a little erratic at times, or like you are given a lot of names in a short period of time, it works well in context and is supported by the art. The narrative doesn’t hold the reader’s hand. I was extremely thankful for this, as that sort of attenuating of narrative details or a story’s world lowers reader expectations and is honestly condescending. Just as the art is bustling, the story is bustling, and that’s fine. That’s Miami. That is the world this story lives in. The plot itself is intriguing and involves the same characters from the show in their undercover roles confronting “Miami Bath Salts”-addled zombies, no doubt influenced by the cannibal attack in Miami back in 2012.

This may not be Miami Vice for people who are expecting a direct adaptation or continuation of the TV series, but it is Miami Vice for the Drive-generation of neo-80’s nostalgic future lovers. And isn’t that just thrilling?

Note: The next Miami Vice Remix review will cover #2 and #3. Then it will be as released.

A new retro feel game with promising visuals and a killer synthwave soundtrack to complement, is in the making. presenting Power Drive 2000. Prepare for visual bliss!!

Make sure you support this game folks! Let’s help to meet the goal.

]]> https://newretrowave.com/2015/05/04/something-new-for-the-retro-scene-to-support/feed/ 0 https://newretrowave.com/2015/01/30/mega-drive-causes-dance-frenzy/ https://newretrowave.com/2015/01/30/mega-drive-causes-dance-frenzy/#respond Fri, 30 Jan 2015 21:01:09 +0000 http://new-retro-wave.com/2015/01/30/2015130mega-drive-causes-dance-frenzy/ This is how you get down to Mega Drive! Pay Attention!