TOP PICKS

Acryl Madness – Kaidan

Bandcamp

Emil Rottmayer – Deflection

Bandcamp

Makeup and Vanity Set – Heart of Batman

Spotify

Mitch Murder – Then Again

Bandcamp

Lukhash – We Are Stardust

Bandcamp

Timecop1983 – Faded Touch

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CRYSEHD – EP IV

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Downtown Binary – Memoir

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The Starfighter – Simulation EP

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glitbiter – Glass & Steel

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Honorable Mentions & Singles

Cadet – Blu Magic

Bandcamp

HKE – More Electric Swill To Fill Up Your Stupid Heads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQuVwtQxHsw

Bandcamp

LA Nights – The Call

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Kagami Smile – Secrets Between

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Millenium Falck – Fall of the Titans

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Mythical Vigilante – Erase Your Mind

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Tangerine Truckstop – Tangerine Truckstop

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OSC – Yume No Machi

Bandcamp

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Lebrock – Hearthstrings (Single)

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Michael Oakley – Is there Anybody Out There (Single)

Bandcamp

The Concept

“We Are Stardust” deals with strong themes of death and rebirth – perfect topics for a genre so drenched in nostalgia. But LukHash goes a little deeper than most, actually leaning on science to construct the album’s narrative. The title itself is likely a reference to the fact that every element that makes up our bodies was once created inside the foundry of a dying star, billions of years ago. Carl Sagan famously said, “We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself,” and… it’s true. We are literally Stardust.

Similarly, the opening track “Cyberiad Theory” is a reference to “The Cyberiad,” a series of short stories written by the brilliant Polish science fiction author Stanislaw Lem. The themes of the Cyberiad deal with the “vain search for human happiness through technological means,” creating perhaps the most perfect literary reference we’ve ever heard in a cyberpunk album!

LukHash himself explained to The Electroscope:

“[LukHash] told me he has spent much time as of late thinking about what happens after we die. He created a story guided by the idea that we are all born from stardust.

The plot thickens, though. After we die, we are reborn into another dimension, a parallel universe so to speak, where we reunite with those we lost and love to relive our experiences or create new ones together again. In LukHash‘s words, songs orbit around themes of ‘loss here’ and ‘reunion elsewhere.'”

Rad.

The Style

LukHash himself is a Polish-born UK-based producer and classically trained guitarist who grew up playing retro video games and listening to his parent’s 80’s pop collection. Now, he focuses on creating an intricate fusion of complex chiptune and retro synthwave. Some chiptune can be a harsh listen, but not so with LukHash’s tracks. The chiptune elements work seamlessly together with various synthesizers, which melt together like butter instantly forming lush cinematic soundscapes.

In fact, the combination of these two genres feels very organic, maximizing the 80’s retro aesthetics of both while creating a totally radical and fresh take on the synthwave genre. To top it off, LukHash combines his advanced production capabilities and unique sound with a refined cyberpunk aesthetic that’s often pensive and dystopian, which makes every track a truly memorable listening experience.

But LukHash doesn’t simply boot up a DAW and start making 8-bit sounds. He’s well known for experimenting with hacked Gameboy and Commodore 64 systems, resurrecting them for one purpose – to make some truly bitchin’ tunes.

The Album

Aside from the backing narrative and technical finery, there’s really something to be said about how LukHash actually crafts the melodies and mixes the tracks on “We Are Stardust.” Each track’s melodies feel familiar yet futuristic, merging 80s pop tonalities with almost baroque synth leads. There’s also a deep sense of wistful nostalgia throughout the album that blends together perfectly with the other elements. The result is astounding, really amplifying the crisp cyberpunk tropes he’s built the album around.

In addition to using chiptune for simple pieces of melody, LukHash also uses them to build a dramatic atmosphere. This experimental use of chiptune combined with expert use of his synthesizers results in an intensely beautiful and cinematic album.

The final element of greatness here is the darksynth. Coupled with the lachrymose sounds above, a hint of doom and dystopia pervades “We Are Stardust,” bringing the album full circle and underpinning the themes of death and rebirth.

Overall, this album is an absolute must-listen. At the time of this writing, there are still some physical copies available via CD, with the rest having sold out quickly – and it’s easy to understand why. Grab your copy here before they’re gone!

TOP PICKS

Street Cleaner – EDGE

Bandcamp 

Microchip Terror – Illegal Experiments II

Bandcamp

WOLFCLUB – Just Drive (Part 1)

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Chiasm – Missed the Noise

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Ultrakiller – Death Trap

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Baldocaster – Cult of Saturn

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Castroe – Fall into You

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Galaxy 80 – Visions

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Siamese Youth – Echoes of Tomorrow

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Frank Redux – Memory Lane

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Honorable Mentions & Singles

Literature – Stoa

Bandcamp

Rupert Lally – Maniac’s Almanac

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Cyberoptics – Resurgence

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Austin Archer – Now That’s What I Call a Bunch of Austin Archer’s TikTok Songs Compiled Into an Album Vol​.​1

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Ev.exi & Rhodes Rodosu – Stellae / Infinitus

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Mecha Maiko – Kitchen Floor

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LukHash – Dying Breath

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Maxthor – Into the Light

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3FORCE – Alpha Prophecy

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Korine – Sunshine

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The Playlist

Marking LukHash’s second NRW release, “We Are Stardust” is shaping up to be an absolute banger. This comes as no surprise after his last amazing release “Transient Offworld” last year. The latest single, “Dying Breath” is a delicious synthwave track that features elements of cyberpunk and darksynth alongside some truly awesome vocals from Meredith Bull. 

LukHash is known for using hacked retro hardware like commodore 64s and gameboys to create his awesome blend of chiptune synthwave, and In a recent interview with Brutal Resonance, LukHash also related probably one of the coolest things I’ve heard this year: a fully playable, album themed, Commodore 64 game will be encoded in the actual audio files in audio data format. How rad is that!? This isn’t your grandad’s chiptune.

“[The] game was written by a talented team of retro game developers at Megastyle. It features three original songs from the album transcribed into retro video game versions. So, if you still own this ‘80s piece of gaming history you’ll have an opportunity to transfer the data from the album to your C64 and experience “We Are Stardust” in 8 bits!”

LukHash also expanded a bit more about the upcoming album in the interview as well, explaining “It is a story of alternate reality and parallel worlds. It is yet again a mix of synthwave and chiptune with a strong cyberpunk vibe but this time with some more spacey synths. It still has a rather aggressive dark tone but I really hope to invoke some reflection. I want the listener to join me on a nostalgic ride while reminding that at the end of it all we’re all just a tiny piece of dust in the universe.”

He also and revealed how he came to start using old tech as instruments in the interview as well. Apparently he never expected to get such a huge response.

“8-bit video game soundtracks have been a big part of my childhood and I thought it would be interesting to bring all of the influences into one place. I went on ebay and picked up an old C64g. It used to sell for some silly low amount at that time. Not long after I’ve ordered a couple of original Gameboys. I modified them slightly and since I really enjoyed jamming out with all consoles, I decided to share some of it on an early days YouTube. To my surprise the response was great.”

We’re incredibly stoked to hear more of the upcoming album – you can read the entire Brutal Resonance interview here, and check out the video below for a great example of how LukHash uses old modded tech to make his one-of-a-kind sound.

Sure, chiptune and 8bit music has been around for a while, but mostly as covers or simply chiptune – but very rarely has it been so successfully blended into other genres as with “Transient Offworld.” Combined with expert levels of production and composition, LukHash’s debut NRW release is an instant classic, and not one you want to miss!

Grab a listen here now!

Continuing his trend of excellence from release of “Naomi,” the first single, “Paradigm Shift” is another wonderfully produced piece of synthwave. With sounds like this coming out, LukHash’s next album is sure to be a string of hits!

Listen here

We’re extremely excited to welcome LukHash to our roster, and we’re loving their signature sound of glossy blend cyberpunk and synthwave mixed with chiptune.

It gets even more fantastic when you realize that most of these synth leads were actually played on a commodore 64! Check out some of the videos here!

Listen to the single here!

Honorable Mentions:

Brojak

Douze

Top 10 Retrowave Newcomers of 2019

10. Marsilius Kreutz

9. Vast Hill

8. Autokira

7. Lukhash

6. Florida Skyline

5. Siamese youth

4. SJ Bravo

3. Wayfloe

2. Yota

1. The Night Hour