History MediaNotes / Synthwave

* Music/GUNSHIP (a collaboration between alt-rock band Music/{{Fightstar}}'s members ''sans'' Charlie Simpson. devoted to making cinematic-style music; varied, emotional tracks with ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' and ''Film/BladeRunner'' homages)

* [=GUNSHIP=] (a collaboration between alt-rock band Music/{{Fightstar}}'s members ''sans'' Charlie Simpson. devoted to making cinematic-style music; varied, emotional tracks with ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' and ''Film/BladeRunner'' homages)

A notable subgenre of Synthwave is Soviet Wave; while Synthwave focuses primarily on American nostalgia for the 1980s, Soviet Wave focuses on Russian 1980s nostalgia and nostalgia for the Soviet Union in general. Essentially it is WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell as a music genre. Musically speaking Synthwave and Soviet Wave are nearly identical, except for some occasional Russian folk influences; the samples come from official speeches as often as from old films. A trend in band names is to use a vaguely scientific term suffixed with a number, e.g. "Proton-4", as if it was a space mission or one of Soviet UsefulNotes/ClosedCities.

* Music/CarpenterBrut: (Mixture of metal, synthesizers and 80s TV shows and B-movies, usually darksynth; described as Music/{{Justice|Band}} meets Creator/JohnCarpenter.)

Retrowave is not only inspired by various movements from the decade (and conversely, by futuristic movements both from back then and from the present day) but also ''envelops'' them, as an overarching art form. It is heavily intertwined with the retrofuturistic aesthetic. Songs often sample classic 80s soundtrack songs or UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/{{NES}} {{chiptune}}s. To a lesser extent, the brother and sister decades TheSeventies and TheNineties also get representation, because these were also vintage eras for music, cinema and video games. It remains a cult phenomenon, but perhaps it is on the verge of mainstream recognition given its slowly growing use as soundtrack material in other media.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear2: Solid Snake''

* ''VideoGame/GetToTheOrangeDoor:'' {{Roguelite}} movement FPS that practically ''bleeds'' this - the game's artstyle is deliberately evocative of the cover art associated with Synthwave, and has a soundtrack scored by BEASUCE, ID:null, and Aaron F. Bianchi Jupiter.

* ''VideoGame/GetToTheOrangeDoor:'' is a {{Roguelite}} movement FPS that practically ''bleeds'' this - the game's artstyle is deliberately evocative of the cover art associated with Synthwave, and has a soundtrack scored by BEASUCE, ID:null, and Aaron F. Bianchi Jupiter.

* [=Magic Sword=]

* ''Film/BackToTheFuture''

+ TheEighties, {{Pop}}, SynthPop, ElectronicMusic, NewWaveMusic, HairMetal, {{Disco}}, VideoGames, ProgressiveRock, SciFI, CyberPunk, Action Films, SaturdayMorningCartoon

Many musicians work exclusively as "extended jam" structure instrumentalists [[note]] often in a progressive style[[/note]], but guest vocalists occasionally crop up for a collaboration. Some groups are explicitly vocals-based, with these songs more readily falling back on a traditional verse-chorus-bridge structure. Thematic inspiration includes action movies and their soundtracks (and their leading stars), dystopia, love, [[SciFi science fiction]], {{horror}}, sex, [[VideoGames video games]], fast women and faster cars, [[SaturdayMorningCartoon classic cartoons]], classic {{anime}}, body building, predictions of the future and the iconic, neon-coated beach cities of Miami and Los Angeles. Lyrics, when used, also follow these themes. The {{Trope Namer|s}} for "Outrun" music is the 1986 UsefulNotes/{{Arcade game}} ''VideoGame/OutRun'', the soundtrack of which had the kind of 80s synth vibe that characterizes synthwave.

Retrowave is not only inspired by various movements from the decade (and conversely, by futuristic movements both from back then and from the present day) but also ''envelops'' them, as an overarching art form. It is heavily intertwined with the retrofuturistic aesthetic. Songs often sample classic 80s soundtrack songs or {{Arcade}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/{{NES}} {{chiptune}}s. To a lesser extent, the brother and sister decades TheSeventies and TheNineties also get representation, because these were also vintage eras for music, cinema and video games. It remains a cult phenomenon, but perhaps it is on the verge of mainstream recognition given its slowly growing use as soundtrack material in other media.

* Music/Perturbator: (Horror and cyberpunk-based with occasional guest vocals, formerly a BlackMetal guitarist; mixed with {{darkwave}} starting with ''New Model'', before adding a heavy dose of {{industrial}} and GothRock with ''Lustful Sacraments''.)

* [=Music/Perturbator=]: (Horror and cyberpunk-based with occasional guest vocals, formerly a BlackMetal guitarist; mixed with {{darkwave}} starting with ''New Model'', before adding a heavy dose of {{industrial}} and GothRock with ''Lustful Sacraments''.)

* [=Perturbator=]: (Horror and cyberpunk-based with occasional guest vocals, formerly a BlackMetal guitarist; mixed with {{darkwave}} starting with ''New Model'', before adding a heavy dose of {{industrial}} and GothRock with ''Lustful Sacraments''.)

* ''VideoGame/Haven2020'' ({{Animesque}} sci-fi romance RPG by the creators of ''Furi'', scored by DANGER, who also contributed to the latter game)