Retro Synthpop Playlist

Glass Spells - Thrills 

Written by Glass Spells

Follow:
https://www.instagram.com/glass_spells/

Negative Gain Productions 2021

Thrills

The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new music video from Kontravoid. Renowned for his decade-long exploration of dark pop intricacies, the enigmatic Canadian-born, LA-based artist delivers yet another remarkable full-length album, following the success of his previous works such as Too Deep (2019) and Faceless (2021). In his new album Detachment, he presents a unique blend of infectious body music, electro, freestyle and gothic nuances.

Today, we unveil "Losing Game," a track featuring Chelsey Crowley from synth-pop sensation Nuovo Testamento. It serves as a natural evolution of Kontravoid's distinctive sound, with his signature pulsating rhythmic bass lines and Crowley's vocals in an ethereal floating feather, shining through Madonna-esque overtones mixed with the hi-pitched allure of Clare Grogan from Altered Images. "Losing Game" feels like stumbling upon a hidden gem from 1984, yet it's a creation firmly rooted in the present. 

Out March 1st on Artoffact Records. Available on digital, CD and vinyl formats. Pre-order your copy now: https://kontravoid.bandcamp.com/album/detachment

Watch the video: https://thebrvtalist.com/kontravoid-losing-game-feat-chelsey-crowley-video-premiere/

Detachment

PREMIERE: Kontravoid - Losing Game feat. Chelsey Crowley [Artoffact Records]

All Your Pain

Hello listeners! Welcome to the EnterVR podcast. On today's show I speak with Ikrima Elhassan from Kite and Lightning! Come along as we learn about the open source plugin Kite and Lightning is publishing in order to allow you to create 360 in engine experiences. 


40: Intro 

1:40 What do Hollywood studios see in VR?

3:00 How much does location influence whether you survive or die in VR?

5:40 What's next for Kite and Lightning?

7:00 Is it possible to survive in VR by simply selling content to consumers?

10:00 Why not take money from venture capitalists?

14:00 When will we find out what experiences sells in vr?

15:00 What motivates Kite and Lightning to continue pushing forward?

16:00 How to manage publishing content on multiple VR platforms and marketplaces.

18:00 Releasing their own open source plug in! To create Kite and Lightning type experiences.

23:00 The pro's and cons of creating 360 in engine video experiences.

27:00 Using synthetic light fields to get around the limitations of 360 in engine video.

32:00 Will Tesla vehicles become self aware?

33:00 What is the cost of producing VR content?

35:00 What will it take to generate a mass transition of consumers from the legacy paradigm to VR?

37:00 What is the overall sense of the VR industry community? 

40:00 Will money change the way we view the VR industry?

41:00 How are people's reactions to VR changed over the last couple of years?

44:00 How do you see VR for its potential and not just its short comings?

45:00 What does the creative future of Kite and Lightning look like?

46:00 What will be the keyboard of VR? 

50:00 Exploring the "watching little worlds " effect. Playing Chrono Trigger in VR?

51:00 If we could bring the back the Neandarthal, should we?

52:00 Closing thoughts and staying in touch.

Thanks to Ikrima for being a true scholar and gentleman of virtual reality and thank you for listening!

Keep in touch with the links below:

http://blog.kiteandlightning.la/

hello@kiteandlightning.la

@KNLstudio 


Kite and Lightning is at the vanguard of changing the way we tell stories

Isaac Howlett, front person of acclaimed synth-pop outfit Empathy Test, unveils his latest solo single Spiralling - a raw, dance-floor-ready track addressing depression and anxiety from his own lived experience. Collaborating with the enigmatic European music collective A State of Flux, Howlett delivers a compelling blend of accessible hooks and emotional nuance, transcending genre boundaries.

Drawing from diverse electronic influences, Spiralling creates a soundscape that’s both immediate and immersive, pairing dance-floor rhythms with rich, emotionally layered textures. It’s a musical journey into the depths of inner turmoil.

“I’m in the privileged position of being asked to collaborate a lot, but rarely find time. However, when a deliciously dark demo entitled Spiralling landed in my inbox, I was immediately inspired. The lyrics come from something my late grandfather said which stuck with me; “depression runs in the men, on your mother's side”. I felt like a time-bomb waiting to explode.”
– Isaac Howlett

Behind the production, A State of Flux, known for its creative anonymity and fluid collective ethos, crafted a backdrop that marries both clarity and complexity...

“We wanted to create a musical backdrop that, on the surface, seemed immediately accessible, but also delivered on complexity that mirrored Isaac’s personal expression. It was a highly collaborative and fluid process where the track developed over a series of months with everyone contributing musical ideas.”
– Peter 7, A State of Flux 
credits
released July 3, 2025

Written by Isaac Howlett and Peter Sutherland Burns. Performed by Isaac Howlett and A State of Flux. Mixed and mastered by Pete Burns.

Spiralling

Lost

First single from Sally Shapiro's album Ready To Live A Lie, out on May 30th on Italians Do It Better.
https://sallyshapiro.bandcamp.com/album/ready-to-live-a-lie

"Their newest single “The Other Days” thrums with that same indescribable magic that makes Sally Shapiro more than your average Italo disco-inspired project. Her dreamy, gossamer voice floats atop a bed of vibrant synths and insistent drum machine, all wistful and bittersweet as she reflects on a love gone sour. We’re ready for more sad floor-fillers from the duo on their new album Ready To Live A Lie" Paste Magazine "best new songs"

"Her melancholy is still just as strong, offset as ever by determined, propulsive production." The Guardian

"“The Other Days”, the lead single from Ready To Live A Lie, is a wash of smeared synths and compulsive electronic movements. Dreamy vocals blend with snappy beats and hypnotic rhythms, fueling a desire to surrender to the music’s gauzy theatrics." BPM Magazine

"Ethereal vocals and dreamy, ambient synths with a tightly adhesive bass arp and drum machine. The Other Days is among my favorite Sally Shapiro cuts." Vehlinggo

The Other Days

Taken from my new album 'Kintsugi'.
Available on vinyl, CD and digital on Bandcamp: fragrancemusic.bandcamp.com/album/kintsugi
Listen on Spotify: tinyurl.com/kintsugi-spo

Music video on Youtube : https://youtu.be/ietsjIpdoPI

Written by Matthieu Roche
Composed and produced by Matthieu Roche and Sophia Hamadi @sdiamah
Mixed by Dorian Bauléry
Mastered by Emily Magpie

Graphic design by Atelier Belle Lurette

Burning the Mold

Not Alone

Run With Us

Digital Drvgs, S Y Z Y G Y X - Final Girl

Listen/download ➤ https://ffm.colortheory.com/findme

Living somewhere between The NeverEnding Story and The Chronicles of Narnia, “Find Me” tells the story of a youthful promise, a secret hiding place, and the years in between.

FIND ME
©2025 Brian Hazard (ASCAP) & Rainer Aschemeier (GEMA)

You know me
I’ll chase a shooting star
Even when it disappears

A childhood pact
A test of loyalty
We’ve endured for all these years

Beyond the wasteland dune
In the lair of the dragon rune
Under the mighty sea
Will you find me?

In the eye of the hurricane
In the notes of the last refrain
Inside the lion‘s den
Will you find me?

A secret place
We never said out loud
Where we vowed to meet again

I hold on tight with all my might
Somehow I still believe in magic
And reckless schemes

Far from the land where we began
Somehow I still believe in magic
And whispered dreams

COLOR THEORY
@colortheory
Bandcamp - http://colortheory.bandcamp.com
Spotify - http://spoti.fi/1UbfAWa
Patreon - www.patreon.com/colortheory
Twitter - www.twitter.com/colortheory
Facebook - www.facebook.com/colortheory
YouTube - www.youtube.com/colortheory
Instagram - www.instagram.com/colortheory
Official - www.colortheory.com

Want five of my best songs for free?
https://colortheory.com

Get two new exclusive tracks every month:
http://patreon.com/colortheory

Find Me

🌀 Second Single – 19.09.25 🌀
Pfeffermouse, Edictum and i return with the second single from our upcoming album “Ending Infinity.”

“Take Me” (feat. Indigo) dives into the world of the Infinity Machine — where transcendence promised freedom, but instead became an endless prison of thought. A utopia, transformed into purgatory.

Artwork by Juan Castellon aka The Alchemist

SUPPORT: https://turboknight.bandcamp.com/track/turbo-knight-x-pfeffermouse-x-edictum-take-me-feat-indigo

Turbo Knight x Pfeffermouse x Edictum - Ending Infinity - Take Me (Feat. Indigo)

Ghost Protocol

After two #1 singles on the German Alternative Chart (DAC) with "House of Cards" and "Endless Night", Howlett has pushed into darker terrain with Eggshell. Melodically, it has an anthemic, haunting quality, while the beats give it an almost industrial edge. Daniel Myer (Liebknecht, Architect, Covenant etc.) has also left an audible footprint with his production and mixing. 

"Eggshell can be seen as a companion-piece to Empathy Test's Demons", says Howlett, "and inhabits a similar realm, atmospherically. Penned around the same time, it's one of the few songs I've written that's told from someone else's perspective - it's the response of the silent partner in Demons."

If that's not enough to capture the imagination of Empathy Test's legion of loyal fans, the fact that this is perhaps the closest Howlett has come compositionally to Empathy Test, will no doubt cement Howlett's solo work as a viable alternative in the absence of anything new from the aforementioned duo.

Eggshell already has some buzz around it, having been performed live several times by Howlett at his solo shows earlier in 2025, but this September to December he is also performing it, along with the follow-up Ghosts of the Tsunami (releasing on Halloween, 31st October) with Empathy Test on their biggest European tour to date.

At a lengthy, but not unwarranted run-time, of 5+ minutes, the release includes a more concise "radio edit" to appeal to those with shorter attention spans. However, to appreciate the full scale of this epic track, the original version is recommended.


Retro Synthpop Playlist

Estanislao