Hello, What is retrowave?

Could it be anything made in today's day and aged stylized to eighties anime?

Could it be this cool-looking font on the poster from the movie drive?

Could it be a wave of water named Gerald who likes to listen to outdated music?

Well maybe it's all of those things but maybe it's also none of those things possibly. Retrowave or synthwave as it's commonly known can mean a variety of different things for many different people for some it's confined to a musical genre and for others it's a distinct style or a way of expression and for some it's just a joke to enjoy ironically. But I think it's anything with an absurd amount of lens flare neon lights hi bloom effects and an unhealthy obsession with geometry and the color pink... boom retrowave.

I guess what I'm trying to say is retrowave is now a growing movement and aesthetic that people can identify with for it from a sub-genre of electronica. Artists can use it to stylize their art musicians can draw from it to spruce up their music and I can use it as a vehicle to make terrible jokes. Because retro wave can be so many things just keep in mind that there are things your possibilities and this is just my definition of retro wave. Really it is what you want it to be for you although if we're being frank I'd urge you to consider abandoning your meaning in exchange for mine. Great let's talk about the music of retro wave for a second retro wave has been known as synth wave and new retro wave but I settled on retro wave because it's the easiest to say. The music of retro wave is fairly easy to explain some observations I've made while studying these creatures in the wild is the patterning of heavy sense the use on their pelts electronic drum machine hooves reverb as a food source and classic 80s bassline mains if you're curious what this sounds like in practice here's a clip of a retro wave song I've grown rather fond of;

But who started retro wave? Well wikipedia tells me it was a bunch of different artists in the second half of and the late 2000s like comp throughs Kavinsky David Kiley a and Mitch murder end of discussion. Currently it looks like Retrowave is making some big waves in media culture and is inspiring a lot of different media and has evolved past a musical genre. For example the mood and style for the video game Hotline Miami the score of stranger things the resurgence of wearing douche sorry varsity jackets while snorting cocaine in new schools bathroom and the growing market of retrowave themed wallpapers. Hopefully I haven't just made things more confusing for you and now you have an understanding of retrowave.

Synthwaveis the all-encompassing genre of "music with synthesizer sounds". Synthwave started in the late 70s and has been around ever since to some degree. But there have been two points where the popularity soared: the 80s and...well...right now. The boom period in the 80s is just known as Synthwave, as that is where it became a thing, while what is going on right now is Retrowave.

Retrowaveis a sub-genre of Synthwave that is all about mimicking the styles made popular in the original 80s boom period. Retrowave has several sub-sub-genres under its umbrella, each focusing on one of those mimicked styles. The best way that I can separate them is by describing a scene and letting you imagine the soundtrack for it.