Synthwave (also retrowave, outrun) is an electronic music genre that arose in the mid-2000s and feeds on nostalgia for the aesthetic of the 1980s. Musicians deliberately recreate the sound of the era's analog synthesizers, drum machines, and film and video-game soundtracks.
Synthwave is characterised by pulsing arpeggiated basses, wide “neon” synthesizer layers, a measured tempo, and a dreamy, cinematic atmosphere. The genre's visual side is no less important: neon colours, retro cars, palm trees, and “digital” sunsets. Synthwave gained popularity through internet culture and has been used in films and games that hark back to the 1980s. It is a vivid example of how contemporary music can creatively reimagine and romanticise the sonic heritage of the recent past.
