Retro Synthpop Playlist

Squares

say a prayer

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

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

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

Written by Matthieu Roche
Composed and produced by Matthieu Roche and Sophia Hamadi @sdiamah
Guest vocals by R. Missing @rmissing
Mixed by Dorian Bauléry
Mastered by Emily Magpie

Graphic design by Atelier Belle Lurette

Intertwined (feat. R. Missing)

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

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

Gone, Vanished

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

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.


Eggshell (Radio Edit)

Grave Daze

Foxy

Mode in gliany - EnoGat-

Follow Me (Fragrance Remix)

La cancion habla de una rotura sentimental que marca una herida pero que a la vez te hace mas fuerte para afrontar un nuevo comienzo

Videoclip: youtu.be/4UgfDHIdk2k?si=8OlR9Rc3AkVQ-8uS
lyrics
No supe cuanto dolías 
Y me fui sin mirar 
Aunque lloré en silencio por lo que fuimos 
No te importó dejarme atrás

Fuiste mi herida y mi lección 
Pero no mi final 
Demasiado tarde para amar
Pensé que no podría con tu adiós 
Pero aprendí a caminar
Hoy veo claro, sin tus sombras 
Ya no hay más vuelta atrás

Cuando al fin sentiste el frío 
De mi ausencia en soledad 
Viniste con palabras rotas 
Era tarde para regresar

Fuiste mi herida y mi lección 
Pero no mi final 
Demasiado tarde para amar
Pensé que no podría con tu adiós 
Pero aprendí a caminar
Hoy veo claro, sin tus sombras 
Ya no hay más vuelta atrás

No soy la misma que dejaste 
La que esperó sin preguntar 
Vuelo libre, sin tus cadenas 
No me vuelvas a buscar

 Fuiste mi herida y mi lección 
Pero no mi final 
Demasiado tarde para amar
Pensé que no podría con tu adiós 
Pero aprendí a caminar
Hoy veo claro, sin tus sombras 
Ya no hay más vuelta atrás

Tus promesas fueron humo 
Y tus besos, un disfraz
Tantas veces me fallaste 
Y yo fingía no mirar

Fuiste mi herida y mi lección 
Pero no mi final 
Demasiado tarde para amar
Pensé que no podría con tu adiós 
Pero aprendí a caminar
Hoy veo claro, sin tus sombras 
Ya no hay más vuelta atrás

La herida

Small Tremor

Dance To The Revolution - The Guilt (Calima Remix)

Isaac Howlett is a British-born musician now living in Linz, Austria. He's best known as the singer / songwriter behind the internationally renowned synth-pop band, Empathy Test, as well as for his collaborations with Aesthetic Perfection ("Save Myself") and Bop x Subwave ("Storm in a Teacup").

Working with US producer Walter Kazmier, Isaac self-released his debut solo single, a synthwave-tinged, dance floor-ready track called "House of Cards", on 28th of February, 2024. It reached #1 on the German Alternative Chart (DAC) and #2 in the bestselling synthpop tracks on Bandcamp.

Isaac Howlett's second solo single, "Endless Night" arrived on 13th December 2024. It debuted at #2 on the DAC and #3 on the Klangwald Radio Chart. Synthpop Fanatic included it in their "10 best synthpop songs of December 2024", praising its "...beautiful vocals and heartfelt lyrics", while Blitzed Magazine described it as "an ethereal gem". 

For his third solo single, Eggshell, Isaac headed in a darker, punchier direction, mixing synthpop with elements of Industrial co-producing alongside Daniel Myer (Haujobb, Liebknecht, Architect, Covenant, Devision Redux). The third single debuted at #1 on the German Aternative Chart (DAC) and #2 on the Klangwald Radio Chart. It also peaked at #13 (Germany), #15 (Sweden) and #31 on the iTunes Alternative chart.

A fourth solo single, also co-produced and mixed by Daniel Myer, will be released on 31st October, 2025.

"crystal pure hypnotic vocals" NewRetroWave

"dreamy synths and buzzing bass” Obscure Sound

“upbeat and invigorating” - At Cost Magazine

"Stunning" - Synth City

Spiralling

Isaac Howlett

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