I Smell Synthwave and Candy

Back around October 25th, I went a little bit off the deep end on Twitter in terms of holidays with their respective timings and observations. People were complaining about there being Christmas decorations on display before Halloween, there was Halloween candy at stores in August, and clearly capitalism just continues to go unchecked to the point where holidays and seasons don’t really matter much anymore. Did they ever really matter?

That said, there were a number of Halloween related albums which were released within the synthwave scene around the end of September, and into October, but I have to admit that I just really wasn’t feeling the spirit of the season at the time. In fact, by the end of October, I decided it was best to take a month long hiatus from the internet and so I therefore celebrated “No Net November” by staying off social media. Now that I’ve returned, and have more or less gotten back on my feet in more ways than one, I’ve suddenly got that feeling back in terms of wanting to indulge in a little bit of Halloween… in December.

Honestly, I still see no problem with this and so I stick to my previously mentioned tweet; I don’t think you really need to let holidays and seasons dictate when you should and can enjoy something. We’re a couple months removed from the “spooky season” and Halloween, yes, but does that mean I shouldn’t be able to go back and enjoy something now which was meant for only then? Just as how you can eat a turkey dinner every other day of the year besides Thanksgiving, and how you should show someone you love them every other day besides Valentine’s Day, I believe that you should be able to enjoy scary synthwave music any day of the year as well; that’s what darksynth is for, no?

Anyway, here’s a fun size sampling of Halloween related synthwave albums which I enjoyed along with me comparing them to brands of candy (with no gimmick infringement intended towards OSW) just because, hey, why not?

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The Unnatural Ambiance of Synthetic Horror

I firmly believe that, when it comes to horror, less is always more because no matter what you’re presented with it’s nowhere near as terrifying as what your own mind can conjure up in its stead. Now, when it comes to video games, sound design is the true key component when trying to make a top tier horror title.

That said, I’ve been playing a lot of the Resident Evil 2 remake since it came out and, other than being blown away by the game visually, I really have to hand it to the sound design for heightening the tension. There’s nothing more dreadful than entering a room you’ve never been in before, hearing something shuffling around a corner and not knowing what’s there; other than maybe hearing the heavy footsteps of Mr. X somewhere near you and coming ever closer to you.

However, I have to say that there’s really only one aspect of the game which has left me feeling rather underwhelmed if not even entirely disappointed: the music. This might sound weird, but I found the music to be a bit too “modernized” for my tastes in terms of feeling too far polished. The music is not as gritty and/or raw as the original soundtrack, which I think really comes down to something being said about the progression in recording and listening technology actually taking away the organic nature of music, like the pops in vinyl or the hiss in a cassette tape being replaced by nothing but digital silence.

Running in the shadows of cyberpunk: a look at the works of low.poly.exception and Neon Shudder

There are some who say that the sheer number of releases that fall under the “synthwave” umbrella is overwhelming, to which I don’t entirely disagree for it is hard enough for me to keep up with them all in terms of just simply listening on top of actually trying to write up a review as well, and therefore it is unfortunate when so many releases fall through the proverbial cracks.

Now despite the fact that I listen to a lot of synthwave, and also review it sometimes, that does by no means make me an “expert” on it nor would I ever claim to be as such; I see myself more of a keymaster than a gatekeeper. I also try not to involve myself in seemingly endless and, let’s be honest, pointless debates on what is or isn’t synthwave, which subgenres certain releases actually fit into, and so on and so forth, etc.

What I can do however is help to do my part in shining the spotlight on certain releases which have not only fallen through those aforementioned cracks, for one reason or another, but struggle to even be categorized within a certain subgenre or just synthwave in general. I often wonder why this happens in the first place, of which I am sure there can be countless reasons that are more or less unique to the consequences surrounding each specific release, so there may not really even be a general reason, or if it can even be avoided.

Such were the things I mused when I gazed upon the cover art for the recently released album by low.poly.exception entitled MEGASTRUCTURE(S). I try not to judge anything by it’s cover, as the old saying warns, but while listening to the album I couldn’t help but stare at the art because it reminded me of something although I wasn’t sure as to what for the longest time. I finally figured it out, but before I reveal that revelation I think it prudent for me to somewhat discuss “cyberpunk.” 

Nokogiri Nami Society presents “The Night Call: Vol. 1” in aid of Yorkshire Cancer Research!

In a recent news post, where I announced the return of this blog from it’s month long hiatus, I mentioned a certain person by name who helped to design our new banner: Bernadas, one half of the UK based radio show The Night Call along with his friend James. Well, today I am extremely proud to announce that the two of them have started something special in the form of a new synthwave label entitled the Nokogiri Nami Society. Their first act is to put together a compilation of some top talent in the synthwave scene and donate 100% of the proceeds to Yorkshire Cancer Research (516898), which you can learn more about here: http://yorkshirecancerresearch.org.uk/strategy-and-objectives/

As for the Nokogiri Nami Society, they explain their own genesis as follows: