Laboratory of Mathematics and Writing

Timedriver - Dreams of a New Dystopia The science fiction sub-genre of cyberpunk is all the rage these days. The release of film Blade Runner 2049 and video game Cyberpunk 2077 released in 2017 and 2020 respectively have piked interest in the sub-genre. Even more, the rise of AI tools like chatGPT among many others has inspired more people to contemplate how technological progress will affect humanity. It is in this background we witnress the rise of cyberpunk synthwave artists. It is in this background Timedriver released Dreams of a New Dystopia . There's definitely dystopian element to Dreams of a New Dystopia . But there's also colorful melodies reminiscent of neon lights to remind us that even in a dystopain city, there are still endless possibilities. Per chance, to even have a good time. That's probably the feelings this album evokes. Sure, the world isn't ideal. But we can dance away our woes in the neo...

Synthwave 2023 Another exciting year is in the books. I will now highlight some of my favorite releases from this year. A synthwave highlight for me this year was getting to see Midnight Danger perform live just in time for Halloween. I've been to a few synthwave shows before and they where fun. But, I've never been to a popular artist show. Midnight Danger absolutely rocked the place. Anyways, every album on this list is perfectly capable of rocking the place. Mega Drive - 200X I'm always eagerly awaiting a Mega Drive music release. I truly feel he or she can do no wrong. My favorite album is still Sequencer, but this may very well be a close second. I'm convinced that it surprasses both 198X and 199X and narrowly edges out Neuroframe. Neuromancer - Hardwired This is nothing short of incredible. It's like Neuromancer took parts from all of your favorite darksynth masters, mixed them all t...

Orax - Crash I'm always excited for a new Orax release. He is one of the very first synthwave artists I got into when I first heard Cometa . I'm fan of all his work. I must say, Crash might just be his most experimental work. Then again, Betray was also very experimental. However, where as the latter album was an artist exploring new sounds and trying to see what musical ideas work, the former album is an artist that is already confident with his sonic tools and knows ahead of time which experiments will be a success. Checkout the guitar riffs on tracks "Crash" and "Black Mustang". They're groovy, catchy, and sexy. I love how Orax applies just enough synthesizer and sax to add spicy flavor to these guitar driven songs. Another successful experiment is the playful, but still dark, vibes on "Chains" and "Complication". The best thing about Orax is his ability to weave dark and yet beautiful melod...

Dreamhour - Now That We Are Here I first heard of Dreamhour when I listened to the album VLLNS . I think it's a wonderful album full of killer grooves and catchy melodies. My favorite tracks included "Cerebral Chase" with it's smooth chorus and both "Blood Patrol" and "Shobdohin" with its sexy guitar and synth lines. I cannot say I enjoy the follow, PROPSTVR as much. For whatever reason, that album simply didn't vibe with me. Maybe it's because the theme of VLLLNS is just way cool, and in having a cool theme, it generated cool music. What's not to like about a story involving a megacity vampire cult? We're not here to talk about those two albums. We're here for Now That We Are Here . There a few songs on this album that give me PROPSTVR vibes, such as the first two songs. Naturally, I can't fully appreciate these songs. Other songs contain quite good synth melodies, but are less tha...

Synthwave 2022 I don't see any signs of synthwave slowing down. On the contrary, the genre is growing and is stronger than ever. It is true that this creates bloat with a lot of artists being mediocre. However, this shouldn't dissuade anyone from seeking out those talented artists that write brilliant music. It seems the genre has grown in popularity and perhaps even recognition amongst people that don't even know what this music is. I put this on at a party one time and a person commented "This reminds of the Weeknd!" The feedback loop has begun and there's no slowing it down now. Mainstream artists have taken cues from synthwave and synthwave artists have taken cues from mainstream artists. So we get this constant supply of ideas travelling in both directions. And that's one bi-directional channel. It is well known that extreme metal influenced the darksynth lords like Fixions and Dav Dralleon. As long as these channels remain open, the...

Fantom 87 - Beyonder I enjoyed some tracks off of Wilds , but not all of them. The ones I did like, I didn't enjoy them as much as I did everything else Fantom 87 has done. It's clear Fantom 87 was exploring new ground. However, I don't think that ground was explored as well as it could have. I'm not saying it was bad. I'm just saying the potential that was there wasn't fully realized. Still, it was a wonderful little album that's worth listening to every now and then. On Beyonder , we find Fantom 87 returning to the space and sci-fi themes of old. The melodies definitely reflect that. Whether it's relaxing while floating through nebulae or hunting down space pirates, this album has got you covered. There was always something calming about Fantom 87's music. Even amidst those moments of intense action, There's always a bit of a chill . I think this album contains that more than previous outings. There defin...

Timecop1983 - Multiverse Timecop1983 returns with a sweet little five song album. For the last three or four albums of his, our synth pioneer seemed primarily focused on love and heartbreak themes. This time around, he focuses on the universe and space themes with broad hints of the nostalgia he is well known for. This actually bears a very strong resemblance to his work under Division titled 2083 . I actually heard that prior to listening to anything under his more well known moniker. I absolutely loved 2083 , so it's only natural that I fall in love with Multiverse . It's kind of weird being made to feel nostalgic about an album that already contained nostalgia. The same hypnotizing melodies that wrap their arms around and embrace your heart and soul are ever present. They carry you to the end of the song and towards the outer arms of the Milky Way. Splendid stuff. My favorite track is "Lost Time"; wh...

Acryl Madness - I'm Madness Acryl Madness is rapidly becoming one of my favorite darksynth meisters. It's difficult to resist the hypnotic effect his music has. Like a spider building its web, Acryl Madness generates spiraling melodies that trap the listener so that they may be slowly devoured by a musical arachnid. Our darksynth meister doesn't rely on warbling distorted bass or any other dub-step trappings. But he does mainting these steady beats that pulse just as hard as any beat drop. Moreover, the aura given off by this is thick, pervasice, toxic, and slimy; just like tentacled monstrosity out of Lovecraft story. I'm a complete sucker for melody and Acryl Madness delivers those in spades. The minor scales used, the arpeggios, and how they transition into one another is pure dark delicacy. The ultimate shadowy seal, however, is the backdrop of rythm, texture, and splendid use of dynamics behind this elegant me...

Vandal Moon - Queen of the Night All the moody goth kids can rejoice. This one is definitely up their alley. The mood throughout the album is suitably dark, melancholic, lonely, and perpetually loveless. It accomplishes this with lush minor key melodies, silky smooth rythms, and a strong but gentle dramatic singing. Not only is the layering of melodies throughout splendid, so is the very subtle inclusion of newer techniques. A great examplesof this minute technique blending is "Laughing Like a Clown" with its synthetic shrill in the backround during the chorus. Another stellar example is "War" with its undulating rythms and captivating atmosphere. It almost casts rays of light within its dark mood. Perhaps the best example is the beautiful voice switching in "Easy to Dream". This is perhaps my favorite song. It's a stroke of genius, really. They kept the core of their sound completely intact. Yet, they qu...

Night Habits - So Many Lights The cover art perfectly captures what the mood this album evokes. It's the perfect soundtrack to driving around the city at night; most likely when it's raining. Maybe you just had a hearbreak, maybe you just need to get away, maybe you're anxious about the future, or maybe you're reminiscing about the good old days and desire to return to them. Or maybe you didn't feeling any one particular way or another and just need to get into your car and drive into the night. Whatever reason you feel the need to drive, So Many Lights is the perfect music to take with you. There's a certain feeling that everyone gets that just simply gnaws at their soul. It's nothing like sadness, fear, or hopelessness. It's nowhere near that negative. But it's also not a positive feeling either. It just feels the air with a certain tension and causes one to ponder about many things. Night ...

Fixions - Requiem for the Serpent's World It seems as though Fixions gets even more extreme and intense with each release. Some of this stuff is more extreme than even a lot of death and black metal. Much in the same way death metal bands hit you with a barrage of riffs that are constantly changing from one to the next and even evolving within themselves, Fixions does this with synthesizers and electronics. It's nuts. It's seriously astounding. These aren't just songs with explicit verses and choruses. They are ultra progressive monstrosities that challenge the listener at every opportunity. A variety of cybernetic melodies entangle amongst themselves to create a fiery Gordian Knot that tumbles down the digital path towards electric damnation. What's remarkable is Fixion's ability to maintain this twisted mass of cyberpunk synth riffing under careful control. Like I said: it's nuts. ...

Alex & Tokyo Rose - Akuma III I'm genuinely excited for this. I think I still like the first Akuma the best. All three Akuma albums are excellent and offer a variety of amazing sounds. All three pushed the creative limits of their creators as well as what's possible in the synthwave genre. Maybe after a few more listens this will be my favorite. All semblance of traditional synthwave as we have understood it in the early 10's is pretty much gone. There's very little traces of 80's feel left. This sounds a lot more like 90's or 21st century or something. Maybe I'm not the best judge in determining that, but this is definitely a far cry from Perturbator's I Am the Night or Wolf and Raven's Renegades . Hell, it's quite a different beast than the very first Akuma . Even on Akuma II there was still strong melodies that signalled to the listener that t...

Future Kids - 80's Dreams Growing up, as a teenager, I always wanted to live the 80's dream. You know how it goes: successful career, cool car, hot wife, bratty kids, awesome friends, and a general optimistic feeling that you got it made and the best is yet to come. This is due to, in no small part, listening to 80's metal and watching badass action flicks. Now that I am an adult, that aspiriration went to hell in a flaming shopping cart. Part of growing up is realizing that all those movies and shows where fictional. Hell, most of them are unrealistic. It was just a dream sold to us by tv shows and movies so we can escape the mundane lives we actually live. But you know what? Maybe I want to continue buying that dream. These 80's Dreams are so beautiful. Please, don't wake me up! Future Kids conjure up these dreams with simple but beautiful melodies, smooth ryhtms, and a general ethereal feeling of...

Carpenter Brut - Leather Terror Count me as one of those that didn't fully enjoy Blood Machines . I say that for both the soundtrack and the movie. There was a lot of potential there. I don't think it was fully realized. So, I was doubly dissapointed. It hurts to say that, but I was. You can see that a lot of effort and care went into making the movie. Because of its short running time, there wasn't enough time to explore the world, the characters, and the story more. The soundtrack contained two awesome synthwave tracks in the familiar style of Carpenter Brut. The rest was just boring soundscapes that seem typical of soundtracks. There I said it. This here Leather Terror is the right way to go. There's no preoccupation with fitting the right sonic atmosphere to the correct visuals. Just good old synthwave the way Carpenter Brut does best. Save for a few tracks, there's no radical departure from ...

Ace Buchannon - 2087 Everything Ace Buchannon has done up to this point has been wonderful; including this album. I've remarked a few times on this blog that he is probably the closest to the original version of synthwave from the early 2010's. Naturally, he modernized that sound with slicker production, more elaborate songwriting and a greater variety of melody on splendid albums such as Magenta Nights and Eye of the Storm . On 2087 , he adds even more to his sonic template of modern, yet traditional, synthwave. It's still identifiably the same artist we all love, but with a bit of a razor sharp edge exposed. Out talented artist still paints his music with a vibrant color pallette. However, within this pallette, he also added a few darker shades and used those darkerd colors to great taste throughout. We get more cutting edge melodies, faster tempos, and even a few abrasive textures. This is perhaps best exempl...

Chaos Vector - Demiurge Chaos Vector's debut, Eskhaton was a solid piece of industrial darksynth. I thought it was a solid debut from a promising new artist. The atmosphere was thick, mechanical, brooding, and menacing. It definitely captured the cyber-apocalypse mood the album was aiming towards. It did have its flaws, however. It was a bit monotonous and repetitive. It mainly played with one idea throughout the song and the ideas between each song didn't vary too much. Don't let that dissuade you from listening to Eskhaton , though. It's still very good. Demiurge sees Chaos Vector expanding his sound in the best way possible. The production is better. It's thicker, richer, and fuller. The rythm section seems to have more boom. Everything blends together quite nicely and loudly. For heavy darksynth, this is suitable and even excellent. The overall music has been improved as well. Each song is injected with a dos...

Dance with the Dead Driven to Madness Generally speaking, if you're a fan of synthwave, you've probably heard of Dance with the Dead (DWTD). They've been around for quite sometime and are generally regarded as early pioneers in the darksynth style. They where among the first, perhaps even the first, to fuse hard rocking metal guitars with flowing snythesizer melodies. This album continues in that vein and offers fans of the style more of the same dance worthy rythms with distorted guitar crunch. The only flaw, if we can even call it that, is that it's not a huge step forward in terms of sound or style. DWTD hits every trope we have come to expect from them, and that's not a bad thing. It seems like a lot of these veterans of synthwave have locked in their trademarked style and are now refining it with a few minor additions. Here we have DWTD employing the same horror movie inspired electronics propelled forward by h...

Lyde - Resurgance There's only one thing that bothers me about Lyde. The majority of his releases are short EP style albums. Resurgance here only contains three songs. I kind of wish he would save his songs and compile them into a much longer and larger album. I think I find this annoying only because I grew up in the era of CDs that contained full length albums. Now we live in the era of digital audio and playlists. It's not necessary to release full length albums anymore. Really, these short bursts of music is accomodating to people's ever decreasing attention spans. Less songs but more frequent releases allows such people to digest the music easier. Besides, this is a perfect example of quality over quantity. Too many artists release full length albums with a bunch of filler songs just to pad the running time. You will never experience such a dip in quality with Lyde in large part because the albums only cont...

Shredder 1984 - Shred 'Til You're Dead I didn't write about this album in my Synthwave 2021 post, so I'll write about it here. Shredder 1984 has a habit of making short albums. This one contains only six songs. But what Shredder 1984 surrenders in quantity, he more than makes up with large amounts of quality. I am totally in love with this approach. Artists need to stop faffing around with hour long albums with 14 songs and a bunch of filler and just focus on writing 6-8 unforgettable tracks. Shred 'Til You're Dead has six unforgettable tracks. Right from the get-go, the facemelting riffs assault the listener's ears like burst fire from a plasma rifle. The synthesizer tones definitely mimick the sound of heavy distorted metal guitars; guttural roars erupting from infernal caverns. Despite all the pounding rythms and flesh grinding synth riffs, there's still plenty of melody to go around. In many ways, it...

Synthwave 2021 I present to you another list of synthwave albums. This time, they are albums that have been released in the year 2021. I tried making it a mixture of popular and relatively unknown artists. My problem is that I don't always keep track of what's popular in the synthwave scene. So I don't even know if a particular artist is uknown or popular. So, this list is not going to be all-encompassing. I guarantee that there's some that I overlooked or forgot about. You know what? This is just my list. Enjoy it or go to hell. The List ALEX - Mechsuit Junkie Alex experiments like he usually does and this time it is with a more 90's video and arcade game style. The experiment is a resounding success. I love the Time Crisis, Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, and Dragonball-Z samples. I actually hate Dragonball-Z but the "It's over 9000!" sample was awesome. Time Crisis is one of my favorite arcade games. It's cool ...