Enjoy at your own risk!

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

‘Fire Within’ is available for streaming and digital download via Bandcamp

TOP PICKS

Street Cleaner – EDGE

Bandcamp 

Microchip Terror – Illegal Experiments II

Bandcamp

WOLFCLUB – Just Drive (Part 1)

Bandcamp

Chiasm – Missed the Noise

Bandcamp

Ultrakiller – Death Trap

Bandcamp

Baldocaster – Cult of Saturn

Bandcamp

Castroe – Fall into You

Bandcamp

Galaxy 80 – Visions

Bandcamp

Siamese Youth – Echoes of Tomorrow

Bandcamp

Frank Redux – Memory Lane

Bandcamp

Honorable Mentions & Singles

Literature – Stoa

Bandcamp

Rupert Lally – Maniac’s Almanac

Bandcamp

Cyberoptics – Resurgence

Bandcamp

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

Bandcamp

Ev.exi & Rhodes Rodosu – Stellae / Infinitus

Bandcamp

Mecha Maiko – Kitchen Floor

Bandcamp

LukHash – Dying Breath

Bandcamp

Maxthor – Into the Light

Bandcamp

3FORCE – Alpha Prophecy

Bandcamp

Korine – Sunshine

Bandcamp

The Playlist

While every country has been impacted in some capacity, there’s no denying that some have been or currently are being hit harder than others. “In my country it has had a great impact,” says Lleida, Spain based artist Nightcrawler. “It isn’t very productive musically because I can not go to the studio, but I am enjoying being with my son and my wife all day long in my house”. 

In addition to studio time being hindered, some artists, like Barcelona, Spain based SUNESIS, have felt the impact on live performances.”My last Live show was on 7th March, right before quarantine was imposed in Barcelona. I had another proposal for a live show for mid April /early May that had to be postponed,” she says. Adding that “Spain’s economy is suffering tremendously and my salary has been reduced. Social media was crowded with opinions and recommendations on how to experience confinement but I honestly feel this depends on the person.”Despite the hardship, she adds “I am feeling peaceful, hopeful, and introspective.”

Fellow Spanish artist Electric Runner echoes the sentiment of optimism in this trying time, stating that despite the “obvious and awful impact to the music scene with all the shows and tours canceled”, that they are trying to stay positive, noting that “this is the first time in a couple of years when I have all this time to work on my music, some days are better than others but I’m trying to get the most of this situation, I know it’s not easy for everyone and I don’t say that you are in an obligation to be productive but if you ever wanted to start something artistic this is the perfect time.”

The idea of making the best of a terrible situation isn’t an uncommon one in this time, and really that shouldn’t be a surprise coming from a scene with a fetishistic obsession of lost neon futures. Connecticut, USA-based STRAPLOCKED has a similar positive attitude, saying “So far, it’s given me a bit more time to work on my music. I spend less money going out, spend less time driving, and that has yielded stronger relationships with my fiance and our children, [as well as] more time for music and more time to work on projects around the house.” STRAPLOCKED also brings up a point I haven’t seen discussed much. Where you are at in your life is going to impact how easy or hard lockdown is for you. “I think if I was about 10 years younger, having to stay home would REALLY affect me negatively but at this point in my life the last 2 months have felt almost like a vacation. I can imagine that’s a wildly unpopular opinion but, it’s how I feel nonetheless.”

There’s a bittersweet undercurrent in the minds of some artists as well. For Iowa, USA’s SHIKIMO, the added time for productivity comes at a social cost. “I was able to finish up my new EP in the extra time I’ve had that I’m not spending with friends.” SHIKIMO, like many, are trying to stay positive by focusing on whatever the most recent positive news they have is, which for him has been appearing on Spotify’s official Retrowave/Outrun playlist. 

Despite the optimism, it’s important not to forget that the artists who we often interact with as neon avatars online are real people with real jobs and lives that have been impacted, all the more reason to lend them your support today. 

Artists who make their living from music and gigs are impacted as much as artists who are now working more than ever at day jobs to make ends meet. Miami, Florida’s INTEGRA-85 tells one such story. “I haven’t been able to play shows and the lockdown has dampened my ability to focus on writing music. I’ve had to focus almost on work just to make ends meet in a house where all my roommates just lost all their jobs.” This is unfortunately a common reality for many, including Russian-based CYBERTHING!. 

What’s perhaps most difficult for me as a member of the scene who has admittedly a minute impact on the scene or sales is that I really want to implore readers and listeners of NRW who have the means during this time to support as many of the artists listed below as they can. All of these artists deserve your attention, your streams, your album purchases.

I have a tremendous amount of gratitude to the artists in this scene and consider myself very lucky to write about their music. 

Leake Streets’ brick-walled halls glowed with majestic, electric neon lights, paving the scenery with the perfect ambience to greet the fans and their colourful attires. Artists, staff and fans all mingled together and shared drinks throughout the night, whether it be at the bar, in the concert hall or at the popular cardboard arcade, and every square inch of the venue was filled with a palpable sense of love and passion, for a shared sense of nostalgia, for a past we may or may not have known. Those lucky enough to have wandered through the halls at the right time will have even run into a fully armed T-800 Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonator shouting classic Terminator catchphrases and posing for pictures alongside festival attendees, begging the question: what more could you want out of a Retro-themed music festival?

Presided over by emcee DJ She-Ra whose tireless work ran all throughout the night, the Synth marathon ran uninterrupted for twelve hours, from dusk till dawn. As any connoisseur would have guessed from the lineup announcements for the festival, RetroFuture Fest left no room for disappointment in its running order of artists. Whether you like your retro synth music funky, sparkly, epic, funky or downright pitch-dark, the festival had you covered and then some, featuring just about every type of lineup you could think of onstage. Amongst our top three personal favorites in the festivals’ flawless set of shows, Sunglasses Kid pumped the funky vibes up to critical levels with a set featuring guest vocalist SJBRAVO and dancer Jean Frais, Lebrock destroying the stage with some of the most epic vocal performances we’ve ever seen at a Synthwave festival, and Danger unleashing the nights’ monumental finale with the heaviest set of all.

Although this marked our first time as attendees, the loyal Retro Future fans were unanimous in their verdict; the festival had once again outdone itself with this third edition. As for us, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing how its organizers plan on following up on such a tour de force. Young though it may be, Retro Future Fest is already well on its way to becoming a landmark event in the Synthwave music scene.

See you next year!

All Photos by Robin Ono

All Rights Reserved.

Grab your tickets here now!

Grab your tickets here now!