Sunglasses Kid is a prolific UK based retro synth producer known for his collabs with Miranda Carey and Dana Jean Pheonix, and co-producing NINA’s 2016 EP. His signature style is the most sun-washed type of synthwave that would perfectly belong in 80’s teen/young adult movies.
A lot has changed in synthwave since 2013, when Lazerhawk’s (until now now, last) album Skull and Shark came out. The genre has in many ways matured and a whole new generation of listeners and producers has joined the fray. Since then we’ve had the emergence of the dark synthwave, as well as an immense proliferation of synthwave artwork and synthwave music creations.
Here are NRW’s Top Ten Retrowave Albums of 2016
Let’s get this out of the way: Atlas is a profound masterpiece of an album done with an almost unfathomable attention to detail. The wait after FM-84’s Los Angeles EP from 2015 was rather long but well worth it.
The Summoner is a love letter to the Eighties and the Synthwave scene.
Dark synthwave is booming, even spawning a couple of small specialized live festivals in Europe. Perturbator, Carpenter Brut, all enjoy cult status and are very often a starting point for all the newcomers to synthwave.
Hot on the heels of his 2015 LP release, Ludrium a.k.a. Cody Carpenter is back with new songs that came to be in the second half of 2015.
You don’t need me to tell you that 2015 was the biggest year in synthwave since Drive came out – just as we expertly predicted somewhere around the end of last year.
Nearly two years after his debut single, we still don’t know a lot more about Trevor Something’s true identity. However, on his third LP, Death Dream, that was just released, we are allowed a small glimpse into who he REALLY is.
GUNSHIP, a.k.a. Dan Haigh & Alex Westaway & Alex Gingell, love for all things “80s sound” is evident in every note on the album, but instead of another exercise in style we got something more.
Lyrically, Kristine is preoccupied with summer love, lovers lost and burning desire. It mixes nicely with the musical arrangements. Musical arrangements are actually more sparsely decorated with synth riffs than you would expect with a lot of guitar present.
Miami Kills is the sophomore LP by the genre veteran Action Jackson who brings back his tight production skills and great storytelling on this record.