Synthwave Artists

A Collection of Synthwave Artists I Enjoy

This is nothing more than a collection of synthwave artists that I thoroughly enjoy and listen to often. Not everything they release is great, but I definitely listen to a few of their albums and blast out many of their tunes. Now, in no particular order, the following synthwave artists consistently put out high quality work.

Orax

Orax is among the very first synthwave artists I got into back in 2017. In fact, "Cometa" is the very first synthwave album I ever purchased. I still listen to it regularly. In fact, I listen to all of his albums regularly. They're all so good in their own unique way. It's typically groovy beats with melodies that are equal parts lovelorn, sexy, melancholic, erotic, gothic, aroused, dark, and hopeful floating above it all.

Isidor

Definitely one of the more energetic artists out there. Once engines are in motion, there is no stopping the Isidor space jet. What's amazing is Isidor's ability to fuse space hero themes with up-tempo and brightly colored melody assaults. My personal favorite is Avalon Quest. I just feel that is the purest distillation of outrun music there is. Except instead of driving a red Ferrari Testarrossa, you're driving a red space jet across the galaxy.

Lyde

Lyde is one of the most powerful artists and definitely in my top three. First song I heard is the song "Deviant". The arpeggios, the melodies, the build-ups, the driving rythms; it's all so wonderfully assembled that it grips your very soul with its emotional content. All of Lyde's material is very much like that. Over the years, it seems Lyde manages to become even more expressive and more emotive. More people need to listen to Lyde.

Mega Drive

Mega Drive is among the first artists I got into and also among my absolute favorites. It all started with a song called "I Am the Program" off the album Hardwired. The YouTube video had the book cover of Starship Troopers. The movie is better, by the way. There, I said it. Anyways, Hardwired is a spectacular album much like anything else Mega Drive has done. Densely layered labyrinthine melodies that portray a cybernetic nightmare and a future dystopian fantasy come to life is typically what's in store if you listen to Mega Drive.

Waveshaper

This is the second synthwave artist I got into back in 2017. The album Station Nova is the second synthwave album I ever purchased and it remains one of my absolute favorites. Waveshaper has a knack for combining 16-bit sounds with hip grooves and sci-fi themes so well. His style is inimitable. Once you hear groovy bass lines with epic space melodies, you know you are in for treat.

Perturbator

Perturbator rules! There are very few synthwave artists that have consistently pioneered and pushed the envelope of the genre quite like Perturbator. Among the very first, perhaps even the first, to dedicate his brand of synthwave exclusively to the cyberpunk theme and aesthetic. Perturbator almost single handedly influenced an entire generation of darksynth creators. My personal favorite remains Dangerous Days, but everything the man does is spectacular.

Fixions

I don't keep track of who or what is popular in the synthwave scene. Even though I never know what's "in", I can't help but feel that Fixions is an under-the-radar master electronic composer. The music is super dense with multiple layers of melodies on top of aggressive and fiery cyberpunk noises. It's almost as if a diabolical army of cyborgs came to life and beset themselves to rule the world. For this reason the music is challenging and difficult to get into at first. I must admit, I actually didn't appreciate Fixions when I first heard "Dark Days". Took me a while to understand it. But now I can't stop listening to it. I would even go as far as saying that this as good as anything from Mega Drive or Perturbator. Probably a good idea to start with Genocity first. That album is more varied in its approach towards melody. It also happens to be my favorite album from Fixions.

ALEX

One thing you can definitely appreciate about ALEX is that he is not afraid to expirement with different genres and sounds. He has something for just about everyone, but one person may not enjoy everything he has produced. For example, I don't fully enjoy Blood City. I'm just not a fan of those warbling and distorted breakdowns. However, I absolutely love the Akuma albums he collaborated on with Tokyo Rose. His most recent material is less 80s cyberpunk inspired and more 90s video and arcade game inspired. I am confident a new listener will find something they can thoroughly enjoy from ALEX.

Shredder 1984

Underground 80s heavy metal fused with John Carpenter inspired synthwave? Sign me the fuck up! That's all that needs to be said. Dystopian Future is particularly amazing. Go check it out.

Dance With The Dead

Another synthwave duo that fuses heavy metal with synthwave? Sign me the fuck up for this one, too! These guys are pioneers at this sort of thing.

Midnight Danger

Yet another synthwave artist with a metallic edge. Lots of cues where taken from Dance with the Dead, and that is okay, DWTD are pioneers of the style, so if you are going to borrow some ideas, might as well be from the best. Midnight Danger has his own style. It's less metallic, but it rocks just as hard. There also seems to be a B-movie cinematic influence that creeps in every so often.

Wolf and Raven

Wolf and Raven is among the first synthwave artists I got into and Renegades is the third synthwave album I have ever purchased. I still put it in my playlist rotation. It's quite possibliy the best amalgam of 80s and early 90s cartoon, arcade game, and commercial jingle music ever. This isn't just a bunch of simple minded melodies, either. All music from this duo is composed very articulate and with enough attention to detail to make the music, not only catchy, but to add depth and complexity for long lasting value. Absolutely recommended.

Roborg

Cybercrime is a stunning masterpiece. The gradual layering of melodies as the song progresses is similar to Mega Drive. Roborg, has a certain melancholic touch, however. The rythms are up-tempo more often, too. The result is both beautiful and cyberpunk as fuck at the same time.

Dan Terminus

Dan Terminus is another one of those cyberpunk artists and among darksynth's pioneers. All of his music is terrific. Later albums focus more on loudness, texture, and hard hitting rythms. This leaves less room for majestic melodies like those on Wrath of Code; which is why appreciate that album the most.

Timecop 1983

Nobody gets those nostalgia vibes quite right like Timecop 1983 does. Soft rythms and serene melodies carry you into a dream of a world that once was. How beautiful it is to escape mundane reality and recall better days.

Futurecop!

Another artist that can hit those nostalgia vibes just right. Later albums infused a certain mysticism and spiritual outlook on things. It's quite the maturation from the childhood movies and cartoons that inspired their earlier material. It's all good stuff and you can't go wrong starting anywhere with these guys.

Zombie Hyperdrive

It seems like Zombie Hyperdrive releases new music only once every several years. There's no updates in between releases either. They must enjoy keeping you guessing. Scarce releases or not, Zombie Hypderdrive's music is simply fantastic. It's easy to imagine epic space journeys while listening to colorful melodies. We're talking space ships exploding off the shoulder of Orion type of events. The steady rythms propel your space journey forward.

Fantom 87

Part nostalgia, part space trip, all splendid. Fantom 87 produces music that's a pleasant combination of sci-fi, nostalgia, and love themes. Although, the most reason album shifted focus to what seems wilderness themes. It's all good, catchy fun.

Ace Buchannon

Ace Buchannon produces music that is most reminiscent of the original sound of early 2010s synthwave. It must be said that he advanced that sound significantly. He added more sophisticated melodies, variations in songwriting, upgraded production while managing to maintain those sunny nostalgia vibes that the early genre pioneers where well known for. It's also interesting that there seems to be at least some indication of cyberpunk themes on the album covers, but it doesn't anything at all like the typical cyberpunk aligned producers such as Mega Drive or Dan Terminus.

Some Last Thoughts

I'm sure I missed aplenty. I don't exactly keep in touch with what's "in" or popular within synthwave. I just know that some artists where pioneers and others are great and I enjoy their music. That's really all you could ask of a listener. Just find a collection of artists you enjoy and stick with them. And don't be afraid to try new artists and styles. Always keep your ears open. There's a lot out there, even though you may not discover every single spectacular song, you can at least try.

In all honesty, it feels like I got into the genre rather late. It seems to have been born in the late 2000's and firmly established early 2010's. I did not even know about it until 2017. By then it seems like the genre had already entered its second generation with new artists picking up where the early pioneers left off. It now appears that we might be entering a third generation as synthwave creeps into the mainstream. I mean check out the song "Blinding Lights" by popular arist The Weeknd. It very much is a synthwave song. There will most likely be a feed back loop, too. We are already seeing synthwave artists borrowing elements from other genres. The more traditional 80s inspired synthwave acts are borrowing more from pop, rock, and rap. The cyberpunk and darksynth acts are borrowing more from metal and EDM.

This genre blending might not sit right with the purists, but it can also be an exciting next step in the evolution of the genre. How you judge each artists ultimately depends on what metrics your are using to determine what is considered a quality release.