More Synthwave Artists

Additional Synthwave Artists That Are Worth Your Time

This is a collection of synthwave artists that I listen to every once in a while. Even though this is a list of additional artists, I am sure that I still missed a few. Among these are ones that I discovered more recently. Others I simply forgot to include in the previous list. Enjoy.

3Force

So, I'll start the list with 3Force here. Whatever album you are listening to, everything 3Force has produced is solid stuff. Whether it's pure fist pumping EDM infused goodness with a dark twist from Resistance, or the more varied approach of Divide and Collide, you know the energy will be cranked up.

Fury Weekend

How could I forget about Fury Weekend? Not only was Until the Dawn one of the first synthwave songs I heard, but they also have a killer synthified cover of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall. Best Floyd cover ever. Better than that hideuous Korn cover, haha! Anyways, Fury Weekend's output is consistently good. Lately, they've been embracing more dystopian themes. The result is bright melodies with shadows casted upon them.

Turboslash

How could I forget about Turboslash? Rush! is one of the first synthwave songs I heard. It was a super cool adrenaline pumping track that made you feel like you where in control of that race car in the youtube video. Really, that's what listen to Turboslash is like: driving really around really fast like in an action movie.

Glitch Black

Glitch Black is a more recent discovery of mine. I think I can summarize his music as follows: 8-bit Mega Man caught in an endless inferno in the bottom-most regions of hell. I do thoroughly enjoy Glitch Black for that reason. Despite some bright melodies, this artist's music is a cold slab of mechanical muscle rammed into our skulls so that the machines can easily take over.

Deadlife

Deadlife is pretty neat. I will say, though, I'm not very fond of those warbly synth breakdowns. I just don't like how they interrupt a good, steady beat and riff. I do love Variations on the Resolve . That album, along with Orphans, is a huge departure from the usual heavy darksynth sound that Deadlife produces. The albums before that featured those breakdowns a little too much for me. Lately, it seems to be a bit of a fusion between the melodies of Variations... with the more typical darksynth rythms while still leaning heavy on the cyberpunk. The result is quite pleasing. City of Eternal Rain I think is his best. But the rest of his material is worth checking out.

Das Mortal

I'm actually not a fan of his most recent output, Miami Beach Witches. Maybe it's just me, but it seems too low energy and repetitive. Still has two or three good songs, but it's just not my cup of joe. All his other works, Always Loved and Hotline Miami, are great. It's traditional outrun music with a certain sexy twist. The energy levels are much more elevated, even when he's singing about being a mopey teenager.

Wice

How foolish of me to forget about Wice. First song I heard was "Dream Rider", with Arnold on the youtube thumbnail, followed by "Planet City", which is awesome. Wice provides of a wide variety of space grooves that puts you in a good mood. It feels like the ending of a kick-ass sci-fi action film, like Total Recall. Dream or not, you almost don't want any Wice song to end. Hit that replay button.

Carpenter Brut

Continuing the fool streak, I forgot about Carpenter Brut. Truth be told, I am not a fan of his soundtrack, Blood Machines. It was maybe two good actualy groovy jams and the rest was just sound collages for a movie. All other Carpenter Brut albums are definitely worth listening to. Trilogy, in particular, is a classic of the genre.

Tokyo Rose

I forget everything; including artists that worked with some of my other favorite artists. First of all, The Chase: Last Run is excellent. It's simple and fun just like traditional outrun music should be. There's certain beautiful innocence in traditional outrun music. And this album captures those nostalgia vibes wonderfully. However, whenever Toyko Rose and ALEX team up, it is some of the best damned music out there. They both have different styles and they blend them together so elegantly. I still listen to the Akuma albums regularly. Tokyo Rose himself has stated that he left the synthwave genre behind. His newer stuff is more harder edged EDM. I'll be honest, I appreciate less, but I still recommend it. He may no longer produce synthwave explicitly, but because he dabbled in it, it will be a part of the DNA of the music he composes, no matter how small.

Occams Laser

I really love how Occams Laser straddles the line between the typical retrowave sound and the darksynth sound. Really, that's how darksynth began branching off. Infatuation with the 80s decade but with darker melodies, horror, cyberpunk, and demonic themes. This results in dark sounding music that you can still groove to. Darksynth has definitely evolved by introducing EDM, industrial, and metal elements into the genre. It often features jagged textures, abrupt rythms, and distorted breakdowns. That's still great, but I do enjoy Occams Laser's simple musical blend very often. Occams Laser arrived right at the tail end of the first generation of synthwave. So, he knows what he's doing. He's got a prolific body of work that's worth listening to.

Nightstop

Nightstop offers brilliant retro vibes. Of all the artists on this list, Nightstop is probably the closest to the traditional outrun music from the early 2010s. In fact, it might safe to say that Nightstop belongs to that first generation. Nightstop's sound travels back and forth between pure action and nostalgia. The rythms are fist pumping, heart warming, and completely memorable. Nightstop's latest output leans more towards retro-action movie and arcade and less on the nostalgia. It still sounds like it came from an arcade game in the 80s or early 90s. Which is why they call this music Outrun. Go check out Nightstop.

Epiloque

The quest to listen to as much synthwave as possible continues. It will never stop. Naturally, there's only 24 hours in a day and you're not going to spend all of that time listening to music. You don't have to listen to absolutely everything that's out there. You don't have to listen to what the cool kids are listening to. Even though the genre was born out of an obsession with the 80s, it will always evolve. Some of what is being called "synthwave" doesn't even resemble the early pioneers. I think "synthwave" is now a broad category that describes any synthesizer based music with a vaguely retro feel to it. So don't worry about it being "pure" synthwave. Just choose the ones you like, stick with them, and have fun. That's the most important thing: having fun. If you're a purist, you will always have the proper old school term for traditional synthwave music: Outrun.