Notaker: The Man Rewiring Our Ears for the Future

The first time you hear a Notaker track, there’s a moment—somewhere between the spine-tingling intro and the bass drop—that makes you feel like you’ve just stepped into a forgotten sci-fi movie from the ‘80s… but one that also somehow slaps in 2025. That’s the weird and wonderful space David Nothaker (aka Notaker) lives in. He’s not just a musician. He’s a sound architect, a world-builder, and potentially, if we’re being totally honest, a lowkey time traveler.

Born in St. Louis in 1989 (yes, he shares a birth year with the original Game Boy—coincidence?), Nothaker didn’t just grow up listening to music. He absorbed it. You can hear traces of everything from John Carpenter synthscapes to the lush, cinematic progressions of Hans Zimmer woven deep into his work. He’s also clearly spent hours in front of a screen watching the glitchy glow of old VHS tapes—something we at Newretro.Net can totally relate to. That fuzzy nostalgia isn’t just a vibe for us; it’s the whole aesthetic. You love retro? You wear it.

But let’s get back to the music.

Synths, Stories, and Sci-Fi

Notaker’s music isn’t just something you listen to. You enter it. His tracks often feel like chapters from an unwritten novel or cut scenes from a cult cyberpunk film. Think of “Infinite” (2016) or “The Storm” (2018)—they don’t just play; they happen. His use of expansive pads, slow-building arpeggios, and a kind of shimmering melancholy isn’t accidental. Each song is a story. A memory. A moment suspended in amber.

He calls it the “Vessel” concept—his visual and narrative universe that runs parallel to the audio. It's like every track is a ship, carrying you through unknown galaxies. And yes, sometimes you might cry a little along the way. We're not judging.

Some Notaker fans try to figure out which song is connected to which world or what timeline it exists in, like it's some sort of Marvel multiverse. Others just sit back, close their eyes, and let the music pilot the ship. Either way, you’re going on a ride.

Genre-Hopping Without Getting Lost

Let’s not forget the technical brilliance of this guy. Notaker exists in this liminal space between synthwave, progressive house, and cinematic bass. He’s been called “mid-tempo,” which is fair. But that makes it sound like he’s just chilling at 100 BPM when in reality, his tracks feel like they’re moving at lightspeed.

Labels love him. He’s been featured on Monstercat (basically the Hogwarts of electronic artists), mau5trap (hello, deadmau5), Armada, Anjunabeats, and Bitbird. Not many artists can surf that many waves without wiping out. It’s like joining both the Jedi and the Sith and still keeping your cool.

And then there’s “Echoes In Eternity,” his 2024 full-length album. If the EPs Genesis (2017), Erebus I (2018), and Path.Finder (2019) were warm-ups, Echoes is the full-blown deep space expedition. It’s lush, layered, emotional—but also sharp enough to wake your brain up at 2 a.m. when you’re deep in a YouTube rabbit hole and stumble onto a live set he did at Freaky Deaky.

Speaking of festivals...

This Guy Knows How to Blow Up a Stage

Notaker isn’t just a studio wizard. His live shows? They’re the stuff of Reddit threads and festival myths. He’s lit up stages at Global Dance Festival, Das Energy, and Freaky Deaky, and each time he steps on stage, it feels less like a DJ set and more like a spacecraft launch.

You don’t just dance. You feel like your soul is being downloaded into a higher plane of existence. (Which is exactly why you’ll want to be wearing a badass Newretro.Net leather jacket while it's happening, trust us.)

What makes his sets different? It’s not just the visuals—though those are fire. It’s the narrative pacing. He treats his time on stage like a film score. There’s an arc. A build-up. A climax. A moment where your friend next to you whispers “wait, what just happened?” and you realize you’ve been holding your breath for three whole minutes.

A Future Rooted in the Past

Let’s pause for a second and talk influence. Notaker’s work clearly draws from the legends. You’ll hear the emotional structure of M83, the moody landscapes of Prydz, the meticulous progression of deadmau5, and the grandeur of Zimmer. But it’s never copycatting. It’s more like taking apart their blueprints and building a completely new time machine from the parts.

That’s part of what makes him feel so... retro-future. He understands that nostalgia isn’t about looking backward—it’s about capturing the feeling of looking forward from the past. That magic moment when you were a kid imagining the year 2025 would be full of neon-lit cities, chrome hoverboards, and AI best friends. (Okay, maybe we got that last one.)

In a weird way, Notaker’s music pairs perfectly with our mission at Newretro.Net. We take the aesthetics of old-school cool—’80s VHS sneakers, ripped denim, aviator sunglasses that scream “synth solo incoming”—and give them a fresh spin. Just like Notaker does with sound, we remix the past into something that belongs in the now.

You wouldn’t wear a dusty relic from your dad’s closet to a Notaker set. You’d wear something that looks like it came from the future he imagined. Clean, powerful, timeless. That’s the idea.

So, “The Future.” Notaker’s latest single released in April 2025 isn’t just a track—it’s a warning label on a glowing cassette tape: “CAUTION: May cause sudden feelings of transcendence.”

It opens with that familiar analog warmth—something between a VHS glitch and a spaceship’s startup hum—then slowly unfolds into a pulsing, spine-tingling journey that feels both optimistic and haunting. It's as if he bottled hope and reverb and poured it over a synthwave skyline. The kick hits? Smooth. The melody? Emotional. The drop? Like falling face-first into the year 2089… in slow motion.

What’s wild is how Notaker manages to sound futuristic without losing that retro soul. That’s a real trick. Most artists either get stuck mimicking the past or go full robot and lose the emotion. Notaker? He gives you emotion through the machine. His music reminds you that the future doesn’t have to be cold and sterile—it can glow in neon pink, smell like fog machines, and sound like redemption.

You know what would look real good playing this song on loop while leaning against your favorite arcade cabinet? One of those Newretro.Net denim jackets, a little scuffed, a little legendary. We’re not saying you have to dress like the soundtrack—but let’s be honest, it helps.

Notaker’s Secret Weapon: Emotion in the Mid-Tempo Zone

Most mid-tempo tracks hit that 100–110 BPM zone and just sit there—cool, chill, decent. But Notaker? He squeezes feeling out of that BPM like it owes him money. You could be driving down a highway at 2 a.m. with "Shimmer" blasting, and suddenly you’re reconsidering every life choice you've ever made—but in a cathartic way.

He’s one of the few artists in the game who can create music that’s both head-nodding and gut-punching. That’s the key to his magic. There’s always a tension in his tracks—between dark and light, between analog and digital, between then and now.

You want to dance? He’s got you.
You want to cry while staring out a rainy window? Covered.
You want to feel like a sci-fi bounty hunter on a soul-searching mission? Oh, absolutely.

The “Vessel” Universe: Worldbuilding in WAV Files

Notaker’s long-time fans are obsessed with his Vessel project—a narrative universe that spans across multiple releases. It’s not always obvious (this isn’t Marvel spoon-feeding you with post-credit scenes), but if you listen closely, there are threads.

• Visuals: His music videos and cover art aren’t just pretty—they’re clues. Symbols, coordinates, cosmic landscapes.

• Track names: “Genesis,” “Erebus,” “The Storm,” “The Future”—each one sounds like a chapter in a lost space opera.

• Sonics: Repeated motifs, similar atmospheres, emotional callbacks. It’s less like an album and more like a memory you’re slowly unlocking.

There’s a theory among fans (we’ve read the Reddit rabbit holes) that each track represents a different version of the same character traveling through alternate timelines. Could be real. Could be a beautiful accident. Either way, it’s fun to believe.

If this whole cinematic soundscape journey makes you want to level up your own look—you know what we’re about to say. Newretro.Net has you. Whether you’re an off-duty space smuggler or just vibing in a leather jacket that smells like rebellion and freedom, we’ve got the gear to match your mood.

From Bedroom Producer to Festival Architect

It’s easy to forget that Notaker didn’t emerge from some underground lab with a glowing synth and a backstory. Like a lot of electronic artists, he started where most of us start—bedroom, laptop, passion.

But he didn’t stop at just making cool loops. He studied the greats. He worked on his craft. He got his hands dirty in the mix. And slowly, he built a sound no one else was really doing. Not just synthwave. Not just progressive house. Not just cinematic storytelling.

He blended them.

Now, he’s playing festivals, getting label love from Monstercat, mau5trap, Armada, Anjunabeats, and Bitbird? That’s basically the Infinity Gauntlet of electronic music credibility. Each one of those imprints has its own niche, and Notaker fits into all of them. That’s not luck—that’s range.

What’s Next?

If we had to guess? A full-blown audio-visual show. An interactive VR experience. Maybe even a graphic novel set in the Vessel universe. Honestly, anything feels possible. Notaker isn’t the type to sit still.

And for you? It’s time to plug in, press play, and prep your fit. Because if Notaker’s music is the soundtrack to tomorrow, you should probably dress like you're already living there.

• Fire up “The Future”

• Grab your gear from Newretro.Net

• Stare into the mirror and say: “I am the main character now.”

There’s something special about artists like Notaker. They don’t just reflect culture—they shape it. They take pieces of the past, the flickers of VHS dreams and Walkman-era feels, and rebuild them into soundtracks for the future. That’s what makes him more than just a DJ. He’s a storyteller. A visionary. And honestly?

He’s just getting started.