Morgan Willis ‘Feel it’ is out now via Bandcamp.

The France-based synthwave wizard Morgan Willis dropped the original “Sophie Teenage Dream” way back in 2017 as a digital self-release. Then, after growing attention from fans, Morgan Willis went through two rounds of successful Qrates crowdfunding to get it pressed on vinyl.

All this attention makes perfect sense when you realize this album is an absolute instant classic! “Sophie Teenage Dream” is a pensive, uplifting mix of immaculately produced synthwave and dreamwave that perfectly encapsulates the lush and reminiscent 80s retro synthwave sound. Something about this mix of sounds is just so incredibly nostalgic.

If you missed out on the original presses, now’s your chance! Don’t buy from overpriced resellers on Discogs, get your own copy here today!

Though their appearances have been fewer and further in-between as years have gone by, fervour and interest in the duo remained unwavering. From talks about an ‘Alive 2017’ live tour, a new album in 2021 to the most recent rumours about a possible appearance during The Weeknd’s Superbowl Halftime Show, not a year has gone by without some form of speculation about the French duo’s return.

To begin to describe Daft Punk’s impact would amount to enumerating several generations’ worth of musical evolution, from the French Touch movement to modern hip-hop. Needless to say, the debt owed by the Retrowave scene is immeasurable, outweighed only by the legacy the group will have left behind. With aching hearts and decades worth of cherished memories in our minds, NewRetroWave reached out to some colleagues and friends in the Retro scene to pay tribute and share their testimonials about what Daft Punk’s music means to them.

As for me, Daft Punk was one of my earliest and fondest childhood memories.  In an age where vanity trumps substance, they are a reminder of all the miracles that music can achieve when fueled by passion and integrity. Having been shunned by French music executives too stubborn to dream, the duo has gone on to reach stratospheric heights that their naysayers still dream of even coming close to. More than mere commercial success, the story of Daft Punk is a musical tale unlike anything the world has ever seen, an intergalactic transmission of love and unity for the whole world to hear.

Favorite track : Something About Us.

To me, Daft punk were a huge influence on my music taste. Way back in the 90s before synthwave and even electroclash was popular they were doing retro (80s) inspired house music. They were a precursor for my musical tastes to come in the next 2 decades. With the Tron : Legacy soundtrack they really showed how versatile they can be making one of the best OSTs of all time.

Favorite track : Da funk

Marko Maric
(Synthetix Sundays host)

To me, Daft Punk is the mother of all epic French Electronic music. I have admired Daft Punk for years and beyond, especially as a teenager when I was lost and didn’t know which musical direction I should be heading. Then Daft Punk came along and made my heart dance. Releasing timeless songs that will stand the test of time. What an inspiration! All songs are safely stored in my random access memory.

Favorite Track : Around The World

NINA

To me Daft Punk is an Electronic Force that shook the world.

They really opened my ears to electronic music when I was younger. Sure, there were other electronic acts who were making music, but the Daft Punk sound really resonated deeply with me. Around the World was on constant repeat in my house that it would drive my parents mad! lol. They are a huge inspiration to many and ultimately have had a HUGE influence in music.

 

Favorite Track : Around the World

DJ Ten
(Artist, Founder of NewRetrowave & NRW Records)

I love the composer/director combo! I’m not a musician but I like to think that you kind of turn into one whenever you direct a film by guiding and influencing the work of the artist set with the task of composing the score.

With Daft Punk, I feel like these two worlds were intimately linked. You can obviously see it in their Interstella 5555 film that draws directly from their own repertoire, but this relationship also transpired through the robot personas that they portrayed in their music videos and in real life.

I think that the news of their separation had such a strong emotional impact on some of us because it felt like the end of a great film we’ve been sitting through for nearly 30 years…

In that regard, the ‘Epilogue’ video was a perfect way to end the feature film.

Favorite Track: Aerodynamic

Seth Ickerman

To me, Daft Punk is the real good reason to be proud of France. We once brought Kavinsky to headline an electronic music festival in Normandy. He mostly played his friend’s music, throughout his set with the occasional Rage Against the Machine track every now and then. That night, we were treated a 100% pure Kavinsky-type set. He also played some Justice and all1800 people went crazy! Being the organizer, I was busy sorting a bunch of different issues when I suddenly heard the crowd go even crazier and saw the pit go wild. Kavinsky had just followed up Justice with a Daft Punk track. It must have been ‘High Life’ or ‘Crescendolls’, I don’t quite remember. It was a song off of Discovery. We were in a small province of about 100 000 inhabitants, 15 years after the album’s release… The mere fact that one of Daft Punk’s friends came and played one of their songs made everyone lose their minds! That’s the power of Daft Punk, the legend. One year later, after diving deeper into Kav’s album, his history with Oizo [Mr.Oizo, aka Quentin Dupieux], Guy Man … I started Retro Synth Fury with Johann of Drive Radio [aka Absolute Valentine]. Since then, all of the artists we received at our RSF shows unanimously mention Daft Punk as one of their biggest influences.

To me, Daft Punk is my entire childhood. From when I was five, I was competing in gymnastics and I would hear Da Funk play every time during the intermissions. They would also play ‘Around the World’ and even some tracks by Jean-Michel Jarre!

Favorite Track : DIGITAL LOVE – Daft Punk represents my first love. When Discovery came out, there came a downpour of hits on every French radio station : there was obviously ‘One More Time’,  a more discrete ‘Aerodynamic’, then came ‘Digital Love’… Every day around 5pm, I’d sit at my windowsill and wait for the girl I had a crush on to pass by my street, and ‘Digital Love’ would play every single time she’d pass by.
I didn’t understand a word of English at the time, I didn’t even remember the name Daft Punk. But with time, I realized that the lyrics to the song were the exact reflection of what I was feeling at the time. It’s amazing to realize how universal their music is. Even without understanding their lyrics, their music manages to convey a message. Lyrics aren’t typically  all that important in electronic music, but even on that aspect they managed to hit a bullseye.

Anthony Retro Synth Fury

To me, Daft Punk is the best live show I’ll ever see. Seeing them in the Nîmes Arena was an unforgettable experience. I discovered their music through Homework and they made me realize that it was possible to make music at home, and that’s how my home studio was born. I also really loved the Tron Legacy Soundtrack, a great score from top to bottom that still influences me to this day.

Favorite track: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Absolute Valentine
(Artist, founder of Lazerdiscs records, co-founder of Drive Radio)

To me, Daft Punk is audio engineering that changed electronic music forever. Their use of filters and compression is unmatched and more influential than any other electronic sound in the last 30 years.

Favorite song: Crescendolls

Starcadian

To me Daft Punk is the genesis. As one of my earliest experiences with electronic music, their sounds were immediately captivating and set me on the path leading to where I am today. The friends I would meet, the interests I would develop… who I would eventually become. The Robots are partly responsible for all of it. Adieu my friends.

Favorite Track: High Life

Andrew Zistler (NewRetroWave Music Editor)

To me, Daft Punk is 1995, when I was 12 years old. I didn’t really listen to music at the time, but I’d occasionally skim through the radio channels on my parent’s old stereo system. One day, I came across ‘Da Funk’ on what must probably have been NRJ Radio. I remember being struck by the sounds, by the overdriven TB and the super heavy rhythm and bass section. Back then, we didn’t have Shazam or the Internet to identify songs, and it took me ages before I found out what I had just heard. It was one of my biggest frustrations at the time!

Favorite Track: I think that my favorite track is ‘Something About Us’ for its terrific bassline. I’m fortunate enough to own speakers through which they sound particularly good, and it’s always a pleasure to re-listen to that song. Furthermore, the song appears on one of my most cherished albums, an that album continues to inspire me to this day.

Maethelvin

To me Daft Punk, was some sort of melancholic tea cake of Marcel Proust. There was a bunch of stuff that annoyed me with Daft Punk, but the whole electronic and especially all the retro-driven electronic scene owe them a lot. They democratized electronic music to an audience larger than anything we saw before and largely popularized the concept of faceless musicians, which, as you can imagine, vastly participated in my vision for Carbon Killer. Their most melancholic tracks that I initially didn’t really like, are for years now, evocating the slowly fading memories of a warmer time in my life, and I do enjoy a lot to give them a listen as a way to time travelling to those moments… Godspeed, robots !

Favorite Track : If you want to travel too, listen to « Something about us »

Carbon Killer

To me, Daft Punk is my youth. The first track I heard was ‘Da Funk’, and then ‘Around the World’. I didn’t know what a vocoder was. Homework felt like a revolution. Discovery was an evolution.
Favorite Track : Veridis Quo

Makeup and Vanity Set

Daft Punk to me is music I’ve been carrying in my record bag since the release of Homework and Discovery. As a dj I love playing Daft Punk in my set. Whether it’s ‘One more time’, ‘Aerodynamic’, ‘Revolution 909’ or ‘Robot Rock’ to name a few.. for me each Daft Punk track is a gem. Play one of these or any of their tracks in a club with a good soundsystem at the right moment, at the right time.. you reach total euphoria. Daft Punk’s music gets the crowd going! People love it. Honestly I think it just feels right to me for them to close the book. They’ve done it all there’s nothing more to add, proof or show.. this is it and it’s epic!

As a club night organizer. “Daft Punk vibes” is what I tell people not familiar with electronic music, when describing our Night Arcade club nights in Amsterdam. Who doesn’t know Daft Punk!

Favorite track: Short Circuit

Devereaux 85
(DJ & founder of Night Arcade Nights at Melkweg Amsterdam)

To me, Daft Punk represents an era, a generation! I’ve always been drawn to their distinctive sound, it’s unique and instantly recognizable. I love all of their albums but the one that left the biggest impression on me was Discovery. Their collaboration with Leiji Matsumoto is simply magical and so organic. It was a big influence on me for my Supernova albums. I discovered Daft Punk in the Nineties when I was starting out as a DJ. I had heard a few of their tracks off of Homework that really left an impression on me, but ‘Rolling & Scratching’ is the track that got me definitely hooked! People would go wild whenever I’d play it live. The groundwork was set and that’s when I knew that I needed to follow in their tracks. I was lucky enough to see them onstage in Nîmes in 2007. It was simply fantastic… an unforgettable audiovisual experience. I also got to meet Pedro Winter in Cannes, who had a great role in their career and who is a terrific guy.

Beyond their musical input, the band were unanimously loved for doing what they felt like doing! They turned down huge deals and collaboration offers that any artist would go crazy over and they set their own rules. They didn’t follow anyone, they’re the ones that people followed. They left with beauty and class and the whole world is paying tribute to them. As for me, I thank them for their career. The world will have known a great (French) group whose music we’ll keep playing over and over and bobbing our heads to.

Favorite track: That’s really tough. I’m torn between Digital Love (the Supertramp gets me every time) and Too Long (And Romanthony’s magical voice on Discovery).

Morgan Willis

To me Daft Punk is the reason I got into electronic music and also into producing…heck even my mask is heavily inspired by them 🙂. They are and always will be my gold standard when it comes to electronic music, be it production, song writing or style.

Favorite Track…jeez, thats hard, but it has to be Robot Rock 🙂

Powernerd

To me Daft Punk is all about evolution. Constantly evolving their sound and changing the industry with every release. They were pioneers and true game changers, reviving long dead genres back into the mainstream for new listeners with fresh ears. It was the soundtrack to my youth. Beautiful memories featuring a Daft Punk backing track. It’s a sad feeling knowing I’ll never see them live. It’s been one hell of a ride. Thank you for the music.

Favourite Song: Technologic / Aerodynamic

James Secker
(Film Producer & Director, Organiser at Retro Future Fest)

To me, Daft punk is a duo that established themselves as an internationally recognized household name from the very start of their career. Through their combination of quality and simplicity, they paved the way for a number of French producers alongside Air, namely Justice and Kavinsky. Without Daft Punk and Pedro Winter’s management, these acts would have probably never made it outside France. When pretty much 95% of successful acts in France sound more or less like carbon copies of what’s going on in the U.S, it’s a real pleasure to see French artists making an international breakthrough and setting a precendent with their own style.

My first great memories of the band happen to be their first ventures on screen, namely with their all-round great music videos for Da Funk and Around the World. Through their slick, unconventional and very artsy visual aesthetic, people quickly picked up on their need to do things differently, to add a certain depth that was often lacking with most popular electronic music acts. They steered clear of pop music clichés where everything is about money and sex, whether implicitly or explicitly.

My favourite release of theirs is paradoxically one of their least popular ones, the Tron Legacy Soundtrack. I didn’t really like the film but the Soundtrack is sublime. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times and I will never grow tired of it. It’s definitely one of their most Cyberpunk and epic releases. Before I started Fixions, I’d spend a lot of time listening to that album as well as the first Fever Ray album, so those two albums are huge influences for Fixions.

Favorite track: Outlands

Fixions

To me, Daft Punk embodies the mystery, the coolness, the world-class musicianship, the groove in electronic music. Those instant hits you can’t help but dance to. Incredibly catchy tracks that effortlessly stay in your head for days and days.

Favourite track: Instant Crush (feat. Julian Casablancas)

LAU
(Artist & founder of Aztec Records)

He’s back this summer for another adventure!

SUPERNOVA : In Search of Adhara drops this Summer on all download and streaming platforms.

Many thanks to legendary voiceover actor Richard Darbois, the official French voice of Harrisson Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Glover, Kurt Russel, George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Dennis Quaid, Richard Gere  and many other actors… for his participation to the project !

Stay Tuned!!!

We can hardly wait !

Be sure to follow Morgan Willis on social media for the latest news on the album:

Bandcamp

Twitter

Facebook

We have reached out to your favourite artists and asked them to recommend a few albums, movies and books for you to check out. Through these trips down memory lane, we’ll be learning about the images and sounds that shaped the artists you know and love and finishing off with the latest updates on their current artistic endeavours. Our first guest is Morgan Willis, the French producer behind Miami Calling and Supernova.

Thanks for taking the time to chat! It’s a pleasure to have you as our first guest. What’ve you got to share and recommend to your fans and readers?
I’m gonna recommend a film I re-watched recently: The Warriors [1979; Directed by Walter Hill]. It had been a while since I last watched it and I had forgotten a lot of it. I had an absolute blast! You’ve got all of these different gangs fighting in streets of New York, and the ambience really takes you back to the old-school video game era with Streets of Rage. I really like the fact that each gang in the movie has its own distinct uniform. I had forgotten how dark it was; the setting, the soundtrack…  I absolutely love this film.

Do you remember your first time watching it?
I must’ve been between sixteen and eighteen years old. My dad had it in his collection and I decided to check it out one day. The film was released in 1979 but it foreshadows quite a few eighties tropes, namely musically and fashion-wise. Those looks were real fresh at the time, the Warriors were super stylish and I think this look has found its way into Synthwave culture too.

What is it about these older films that make them special for you?
I really have a sweet spot for Steven Spielberg. Movies like Close Encounters of the Third Kind really captured my imagination when I was a kid. I was also really into Back to the Future, The Goonies and Monster Squad. I feel like these movies were accessible to everyone. There wasn’t nearly as much violence as there is in today’s movies, and while they didn’t have today’s digital special effects there was a sense of wonder about these films. In Back to the Future, the magic and wonder is in the aesthetic, the story, the music… When we were kids, we would watch The Goonies and Monster Squad, ride our bikes and really feel like we were in the movie! It really captivates you when you’re a kid, it leaves an impression that sticks with you through the decades.

Have you had a chance to show these films to your kids?
Yes, of course! We recently showed them Back to the Future movies, and they had an absolute blast! They wanted to see the second one and they loved it even more than the first. It’s actually my favourite as well. They watched all three movies and they had loads of fun. Seeing my son discover these films took me back to when I was his age. Those films are timeless, it speaks to every generation and it always hits the same spot. That’s what I mean when I spoke of ‘wonder’ earlier. This is just my take on things, but I don’t really find this sense of wonder in today’s films, even though there are amazing films being released today. The fashion of the time probably has something to do with it, but I still have a blast watching Teenage movies like The Breakfast Club for the 500th time.

Are there any soundtracks that you’re particularly fond of, tracks that left a lasting impression on you when you first heard them in a movie?
What is there to say about the Blade Runner soundtrack that hasn’t already been said. The Soundtrack influenced a lot of tracks I’ve made, like many other Synthwave artists. Another eighties soundtrack that I absolutely love is the Batman soundtrack by Prince. I’m an unconditional fan of that record. My dad showed it to me and he used to play it a lot. He loved Prince and I discovered him through this fantastic album.

The story is that Prince simply reached into his vault of unused recording to put together the album.
Yeah! Like a lot of his songs, actually. When he hit the studio, he’d often record tracks that he’d set aside. He had an infinite amount of unused demos. He’s also an artist that innovated a lot, too. The album has a lot more synths and samplers than his other works. You hear it in ‘Batdance’, for example. The song is all over the place, with samples thrown left and right, synth solos… It’s amazing! I think he also did a track with his father on the album too. The Joker’s song ‘Partyman’ is simply awesome, too. I still listen to it a lot. I also think the soundtrack fits Tim Burton’s vision really well. It was the perfect pairing, I find. When you place the film release and its cast in the context, you really understand that Batman was a huge deal, and the soundtrack reminds me of that time.

Finishing off, do you have any news you’d like to share with your fans? Anything in the works?
My album Dreamer dropped last January on Outland. The Vinyl release was unfortunately pushed back due to these recent events, though. I’m also working on a new project set to release this summer. I don’t want to say what it is just yet, but it’s a big one!

Be sure to check out Dreamer and follow Morgan Willis on social media :

Bandcamp

Twitter

Facebook

Live photo credit: Robin Ono

Carpenter Brut – Blood Machines
(The only reason this isn’t #1 is because it technically isn’t a music video, and it’s currently not available to stream. Check out the website here to see it when it becomes publicly available!)

Jack Stauber – Baby Hotline

Confrontational – Happy Children

Korine – Elegance & You

Top 10 Retrowave Music Videos of 2019

10. Deadlife – Nothing Left But Pills

9. Morgan Willis – Lets Go Together

8. Futurecop! – We Belong (feat. Parallels)

7. Starcadian – Freak night

6. Glowline – Glow with Me

5. Carpenter Brut – Leather Teeth

4. Com Truise – Ultrafiche of You

3. Alex & Tokyo Rose – Affliction

2. Ollie Wride – Back to Life

1. Michael Oakley – Left Behind

The “In Search of Darkness” documentary about 80’s horror began as a simple crowdfunding campaign back in 2018 – but quickly met it’s goals in two days.

To accompany the October release of this maniacal 260 minute doc, we have collaborated with CreatorVC Studios many fantastic artists from various genres to bring you the stunning soundtrack for this titanic release. Critics are already raving 100% at Rotten Tomatoes!

Listen to the full album Here!

See the documentary first by pre-ordering Here before Midnight Halloween, and personalize your documentary with your name in the credits!


Here’s a full list of artists feature on the In Search of Darkness (Original Documentary Soundtrack) :

Elevate The Sky: soundcloud.com/elevatethesky
Wice: soundcloud.com/wice-music
TOKYO ROSE: soundcloud.com/tokyoroseofficial
Morgan Willis: soundcloud.com/morgan-willis-1982
Power Glove: soundcloud.com/powerglove
ALEX: soundcloud.com/alexofficialuk
Hexenkraft: soundcloud.com/hexenkraft
Waveshaper: soundcloud.com/waveshaper-2
Midnight Danger: soundcloud.com/midnightdanger
TurboVCR: soundcloud.com/turbovcr
Moonracoon: soundcloud.com/moonraccoon
Josh Lim: www.joshjameslim.com
Kick Puncher: soundcloud.com/kick-puncher
Turbo Knight: soundcloud.com/turboknight
Vilemoral: soundcloud.com/vilemoral

Maethelvin

As promised, Valerie’s Maethelvin delivered an entirely reworked sound, pushing past his all-too-mimicked compositions and delivering an Italo-laced dance mix that took the room by storm. Grimlin’s following set provided a pretty sharp turn towards darksynth’s heaviest sounds, whereas Reno kept the sonic aggression going with slick, dark techno tracks with thumping industrial beats and a good dose of bestial energy. We’ll be keeping an eye on these young talents, and so should you.

Grimlin

Reno

Night number two got off to a great start, as Parisian fans flocked to the Petit Bain, queueing at the doors to catch NINA’s French live debut, who proved to be a tough act to follow. The mood was set and the energy soared to the sounds of smooth, catchy Synthwave pop ballads, each one catchier than the next. Opening shows are notoriously challenging, but Nina and her partner Laura got the ball running at high speed from the get-go. Fortunately, it appeared that every subsequent act on the bill was well prepared, each one awaiting their cue to keep the pace up in this crazy marathon.

NINA

Laura (NINA)

Morgan Willis followed things up with a brand new set unveiling his brand new record The Jenkins House, mixing his fresh dancefloor bangers with some old classics from Supernova and even a cut from Miami Calling.

Morgan Willis

The masked, vocoder-powered space-jockey Starcadian took over the dancefloor, starting with the whimsical, awe-inspiring ‘Interspace’, leading into an increasingly heavy hitting set full unexpected of twists and turns. It takes a bold, wicked mind to mix Ronnie James Dio’s ‘Holy Diver’ vocal tracks, but it takes a genius to turn the heavy metal classic into a James Brown funk banger. It’s only blasphemy until you realize it actually works.

Starcadian

Sung took over the night with some solid retrowave tracks that got the venue floors trembling from the ecstatic fans, followed by an equally hard-hitting set of syncopated low-end bassline attacks by Christine.

Sung

Yx

Finally, Yx from Paris laid down the last fix of nocturnal vibes of the night with his first ever live show. Nervous but focused, the young artist had a lot to live up to but proved his case to a slightly tired but no less supportive audience.
Last but not least, it would be a crime to omit the tireless efforts of Anthony, whose DJ sets kept the energy going between each and every set throughout both days.

Anthony

With just over 13 hours of live shows and DJ Sets, this Retro Synth Fury Festival left little room for disappointment and a whole lot of expectations in the minds of every attendee who embarked on this journey alongside us.
We certainly can’t wait to see what the next edition will have in store for us.

Special Thanks to Anthony, the staff at Supersonic, Le Petit Bain and all of the artists.
All photos by Robin Ono. 

  The Jenkins House by Morgan Willis

First off, for those who don’t already know: who is Morgan Willis ?

Morgan Willis is an 80s kid that spent too much time in his room with his Atari ST, listening to ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ by Simple Minds [laugh]. More seriously though, I started playing music really early on, playing on my first Synthesizers at my parent’s place. I started veering towards Electronic music in my teens, which is when I started touring as a DJ in the south of France. I also started a label called Basics Avenue a few years later with a friend. I’ve always had a certain sense of nostalgia for the Eighties as a movie buff, and my soft spot slowly but surely seeped into my music. I tried out a few projects and collaborations and I fell utterly in love with Eighties music, as it allowed me to conjure back all of these precious memories we all share from that time.

Your show at Retro Synth Fury later this week will mark the release party for The Jenkins House, a new opus that carries a fairly darker tone than your previous releases. How did this album turn out this way? What influenced you to take this direction and develop this universe?

 My albums often tell a story and are inspired by childhood memories. Sophie Teenage Dream was about teenage romance, Supernova is a superhero story inspired by old-school Japanese anime, Miami Calling is a tribute to Miami Vice etc. For this album, I wanted to explore a more fantasy-filled world. The main difficulty for me was not to get too dark and to retain the fantasy-adventure feel to it, similar to what you may find in current TV Series like Stranger Things. The idea for the project came to me whilst I was watching old-time classic films like Fright Night, The Lost Boys, Shining and even more light-hearted pictures like The Monster Squad. I was a huge fan of that film when I was a kid and I also wanted to inject a bit of these influences into the album to have some more dance-driven bangers for live sets.

Could you guide us through the story behind the album?

The record tells the story of a house in a small village where the Jenkins family lives. They’re a very low-key, discrete family; the villagers hardly ever see them. At night, there are reports of strange things happening in the house, which spikes the curiosity of a bunch of kids who decide to investigate, get a closer look at what’s really going on and uncover who the Jenkins really are…

Can you tell us a few words about the guests you brought on board for this album?

For this record, I called back my friend KEL from LA, with whom I’ve worked with on my last EP Stay the Night. We worked on two softer cuts for this album that smoothen the album’s atmosphere, so as to namely keep it from getting too dark.
I also worked with Daria Danatelli again, with whom I’ve frequently worked alongside. Unfortunately, we were a little short on time and the song we worked on didn’t end up on the tracklist, though I’m sure it will resurface on a future release!
As for the album artwork, I called upon my very talented friend Marquee Adam, who had already worked on the art for Sophie Teenage Dream, Supernova, Turbo Flash and who delivered a piece inspired by the Fright Night film poster.

Can you tell us a little bit about your setup?

I work with a Roland System 8 Synth, a Novation Ultranova and a MicroKorg. Software-wise, I use Ableton Live and I mainly work with the Komplete Ultimate Suite by Native Instruments. I also use Maschine, Maschine Jam and I also dig the Diva U-HE, just to name a few.

What do the Eighties symbolize to you? What do you love the most about the retro aesthetic?

I was born in 1982, so I really got to live through the Eighties and the era really left an imprint on me. The Eighties brings up a sense of innocence, to me. Lots of things were happening and we were discovering new things every day. It was magical! We didn’t rely on too much in order to have fun; there were no social media and whatnot. We’d meet up with our friends on our BMX’s and we would go on adventures with our Walkman and cassettes I used to steal from my dad. Music and film-wise, the Eighties were a very prolific and creative time. It’s pretty clear that the era left a big mark, as it has resurfaced as a popular trend. I think that it’s the creativity and the candour that I’m most drawn to. It’s 2019 and I’m still listening to Eighties songs [laugh]. From an aesthetic standpoint, its real treat to see some current Eighties-inspired Synthwave album covers. They’re real works of art! Every artist, regardless of which field, is expressing themselves fully and paying homage to a particular time in our life that left this mark on us.

Finishing off: can you name one of your favourite albums, movies and books?

That’s not easy! [laugh] Album-wise, I’d say Face Value by Phil Collins. ‘In the Air Tonight’ marked a turning point in my life. I find it truly magical and deep.

Film-wise, I’ll say Heat by Michael Mann. To me, it’s a masterpiece from an aesthetic standpoint. It inspired a lot of other filmmakers.

Book-wise, I’ll have to admit that I’m not a big reader. However, I am reading a book called La Face Cachée by my friend Vicent Rémont. He’s a great author and I really recommend it.

Special thanks go out to Anthony for helping set this interview up.

European Retroheads, be sure to catch Morgan Willis and many more heavyweight Synthwave acts at Retro Synth Fury in Paris. 

Retro Synth Fury
April 4th at Supersonic, featuring Réno (Fr), Grimlin (Fr) & Maethelvin (Fr)
https://www.facebook.com/events/303022477023907/

April 5th at Le Petit Bain, featuring Yx (Fr), Christine (Fr), Starcadian (US), Morgan Willis (Fr), NINA (UK)   https://www.facebook.com/events/321622565224863/

As if this single weren’t enough – it’s debut has been accompanied by remixes from the fantastic Robert Parker,  Morgan Willis,  LLLL, and Beautiful Machines!

Grab a listen of this cozy single and it’s remixes here – and stay tuned for more news about the upcoming album from Futurecop!