November Retro Wave

Old-school vibes combine with digital arcade sounds, classic world beats, and dubstep aesthetics in an instrumental mix of funky dance beats and soft, emotional melodies. The video was animated with NightCafe, using prompts set to meadows and storms. 

Official Video:https://youtu.be/q_AFc7PG7pc

Digital Dust

Free Download

I was watching a sports game once, and the score was close as both teams competed for a victory. The crowd was riveted and completely invested in trying to will their team to win. I could see the intensity on their faces as they hoped for this more than anything. It made me wonder what would happen if we used this same type of intense focus to make the world better. Why do we seem to waste so many moments? The harbinger of Warlock awaits as we continue to embrace apathy.

Warlock

I began working on this beat a month ago and realized it was an opportunity to incorporate more synthwave into my collection with a touch of space rock. As I developed the beat, lyrical ideas began to emerge, along with thoughts of adding a guitar. This music could serve as a way to divert your attention from current events and transport you to a different place. It's like endless summers from the past, with stunning poolside views and well-dressed companions.

Silhouette Skyline 

Gone are the memories of the skyline and 
crashing waves 
Turning all the corners on the surf tide 
I will catch a break

Bygone eras of your life appear
like magic
paint the neon canvas all balcony tone 

Beautiful and fancy 
Balcony tone
I could still see you
Silhouette moonshine 

Beautiful and fancy 
Balcony tone
I can still see you
Silhouette moonshine 
Beautiful dressed up 
Dinner at pool side 

Soaking up wind and the sun rays 
Think of what the future might be   
Turning all the corners of the surf tide
Finally catch a break - catch a break

I can still see you dancing in the moonlight
beautiful and fancy balcony tone
tones on the skyline 
balcony tone silhouette skyline

Silhouette Skyline

The music video is now here!! 

https://youtu.be/PvfAxEqHXk4?si=5RIXsUal4JbKXKsF 

Description: I started with an obvious beat and intended to create more synthwave and space rock, but it turned out to be more rock than I expected. Over the past year, I've tried to avoid this style for the most part. However, I found myself reminiscing about the fun summers before global warming and severe heat waves. I recalled a specific memory of my friend and me paddling a rubber raft along a river bed. The raft tumbled and flipped over, and we had to swim out. This memory combined all the summer fun, including going to malls. I thought about adding lyrics about a water park somewhere, perhaps for another song. Nevertheless, this track is another anthem for the end of August, capturing the essence of summer before fall arrives.

Endless Summer Daze

How I long for those endless summer daze 
When everything was new
When we were just kids 

Everything that we would do 
Felt like a dream come true with you  

Time it played it’s tricks on us
Don’t worry wise one said 
Exploring with our wanderlust
Rolling up the trail

Well endless summer daze 
When we felt that craze
Running through the fields
Is any of this so real 

Eagle flight and I’m taking you 
Open malls and the waterfalls 
 
Timing made a fool of me 
It’s real what’s Einstein said 
Rafting on the river bed  
Fishing in the lake 

Endless Summer Daze 
Everything that we would do 
Felt like a dream come true 
again with you  

All those days are gone for us 
Memories remain 
I’d say we made the most of the
endless summer daze

Wasteland

Endless Summer Daze

I had other tracks in progress that I was planning to finish first, but when Softube released the Model 77 synthesizer plug-in, I couldn't wait to try it. I was immediately captivated by its sound and started experimenting with the 'ethereal' and 'pw echo' presets. I added another track with some 'Glowstic Bass' sub and featured 'Jumpin Joy'. I increased the reverb and added some age to a few of these while also doing some mix automation with noise. What was initially supposed to be just a few hours of playing around with the synth unexpectedly turned into a futuristic instrumental track.

I'm excited to release my other tracks soon, but this one has found its way into my heart, page, and synth playlists.

Periapsis

Music video: https://youtu.be/O4ECgPs1N9g?si=Scxsis-ARVBOKkRT

When I first started making retro music, I struggled to capture certain sounds. Despite growing up listening to a lot of it, I had to immerse myself in knowledge of how it was made and the techniques of the time. By combining modern DAW and techniques, I've developed my own unique approach. This track was inspired by those times when you lack the energy to socialize. It reflects on the circumstances, the rooms, the glances, past loves, and past life, yet not finding the energy to create something special and unique again. It's like running on fumes when the well has run dry. While creating this 80s vibe sound, instead of my usual sci-progressive direction, I found myself leaning into the 80s vibe lyrically.

Fantasy Glance

Gliding through the end of hemisphere
Didn’t you know you were on my mind 

Forever reaching for the unattainable
If I find you there will help me stay 

Running on fumes and I’m feeling so lonely 
How often I roam this city
looking for you

The lamp shade mirror in the room where you
used to be 
Seductive glances 
stuck in my memory 

Roads crossed and the merchant village fair 
Amid the fantasy nostalgia waves

Running on fumes and I’m feeling so lonely 
How often I roam this city
looking for you

I’m running on (running on)
I’m running running on fumes
I’m running running on 
running on empty

Fantasy Glance

The future may not have been realized yet, but I seem to be realizing my retro wave desert rock ambitions with this latest new mix. I reminisce about old TV shows and books we read in the 80s and 90s that depicted what the future would be like. None of them seemed to accurately predict what it turned into. However, I believe it’s more of a delayed phenomenon, where there are unforeseen technological advancements and other developments that are still far beyond our current timeline.

Unrealized Future 

The future we thought was the 80s dream 
in 2025 was not the same thing
Visions of where we hoped to be 
Was a stranger reality 
 
Some might say I’m stuck in my ways 
That I like living in the past  
Retrofuture dream that our society
would not realize 

We said at the time in 30 years 
we’ll have flying cars 
with jetpacks hovering skates 
Ended up with small tv screens 
plastic everywhere in our oceans 
and lakes

Some might say I’m stuck in my ways 
That I like living in the past  
Retrofuture dream that our society
would not realize 

The temperatures warm and the climates changed
and there some who believe we live in an ice age 
You will know when life it  has improved 
Spend some time outdoors without burning away

Some might say I’m stuck in my ways 
That I like living in the past  
Retrofuture dream that our society
would not realize

Unrealized Future

A common term related to investing can also apply to various aspects of life. The fear of missing out, driven by others' participation, can lead to negative outcomes. This track was started about a month ago using Model 84 and 77 Softube synthesizers, along with a Juno emulation. I incorporated guitars similar to those used in "Endless Summer Daze" and "Unrealized Future," and it features a synth bass Arturia preset called "Pet Shop Boys."

FOMO 

They all wait in line for the money machine 
Caught in an avalanche of emotion 
Don’t wanna rain on your parade

Fear of missing out
Now you’ve jumped into the
shark tank
You thought you’d join in too late 
Now the bank has taken it all away 
 
So you found what your hoping to emulate 
Everyone’s winning and you wanna 
partake in it

Fear of missing out
Now you’ve jumped into the
shark tank
You thought you’d join in too late 
Now the bank has taken it all away

FOMO

I discover Mark with his track "Silhouette Skyline". I completely found myself in his post-punk style. Mark is a music producer and songwriter based in Las Vegas. He is the lyricist and the singer of our first collaboration "Dream Unwind". This track is the result of mixing my crazy, noisy little style with Mark's authenticity.

Mark's Soundcloud profile : https://soundcloud.com/markantares
A very good track of Mark, Silhouette Skyline : https://soundcloud.com/markantares/silhouette-skyline
A very cool video of Mark, making a live jam version on Merry Go Round (Neon City) : https://youtu.be/t3rEhZZu7As?si=WuW6IE3KF34viTR6

Dream Unwind (Feat. Mark Antares)

Retro wave synthwave remix abstracted version. 

Original version: https://soundcloud.com/markantares/unrealized-future

I reminisce about old TV shows and books we read in the 80s and 90s that depicted what the future would be like. None of them seemed to accurately predict what it turned into. However, I believe it’s more of a delayed phenomenon, where there are unforeseen technological advancements and other developments that are still far beyond our current timeline.

This was not my first song choice for remix yet I opened up the track one day and started switching synths around, made a different style beat and then put an overall layer of vertigo over the top of the mix. I sat with it for a few weeks until I liked where it was at. I hope you enjoy this version as well as the first. 

Unrealized Future

The future we thought was the 80s dream
in 2025 was not the same thing
Visions of where we hoped to be
Was a stranger reality

Some might say I’m stuck in my ways
That I like living in the past
Retrofuture dream that our society
would not realize

We said at the time in 30 years
we’ll have flying cars
with jetpacks hovering skates
Ended up with small tv screens
plastic everywhere in our oceans
and lakes

Some might say I’m stuck in my ways
That I like living in the past
Retrofuture dream that our society
would not realize

The temperatures warm and the climates changed
and there some who believe we live in an ice age
You will know when life it has improved
Spend some time outdoors without burning away

Some might say I’m stuck in my ways
That I like living in the past
Retrofuture dream that our society
would not realize

Unrealized Future - Abstracted Remix

While I was scrolling through the beats I had made on the MC-101, I came across something I created a while back. It’s an 80s-inspired beat featuring a JP bass and a soft pad synth. I've been improving my ability to sync my groovebox beats with my DAW. Although I initially found this process tedious, it has become rewarding because it pushes me to be more creative. While I could produce everything more quickly in the DAW, this method brings a greater vibe since it’s jam-based.

The lyrics I wrote reflect my commitment to staying true to my retro vision despite the ups and downs in life, making the most of the challenges that come my way. I also enjoyed getting back on the Boss IR-2 pedal—it made dialing in a tone much easier. I added a Celestion 30 to the speaker model, and overall, I really like the zone it creates.

Retro Rock Jamboree 

Keep on rockin the take
Might be no fanfare there’s never
no quake 
Rock on the song
cause I know it won’t be long 

Waiting for flight
They’ll never hear your plight 
The freedom to roam 
Go out explore without
The inner fear

I know what I need
Lifting up in all the directions
If you told me not today   
I wouldn’t think about you anyway

Rabbits luck dangling up my sleeve
Retro rock is my jamboree 
Straight to the top of the desert scene
Get with the jams and don’t follow the dweebs 

Won’t settle in life
Nobody tells me how to spend my day 
I gave it my all 
Closing the distance and it’s never 
enough

Rabbits luck dangling up my sleave
Retro rock is my jamboree 
Straight to the top of the desert scene
Get with the jams and don’t follow the dweebs 

Sonic roll 
Sonic roll
Rabbits luck 
Retro rock

Retro Jamboree

Producer of space rock, experimental lo-fi, House, EDM, vaporwave and synth-wave.