FINAL ASSESMENT (MAGAZINE)

STRIPPED
CONTENT
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You wanna turn it up loud,
future nostalgia is the name
If you’ll remember, at the end of 2018, Netflix released its
special Black Mirror episode, “Bandersnatch”. An interactive
experience that was set in the 80s, complete with a soundtrack
that flitted between the psychedelic (Tangerine Dream) and
the more easily digested (Eurythmics). While viewers were
entranced by the story, determined to complete every choice
to discover every possible ending, it was a subtle premonition
of what was to come in the forthcoming year. A year of music
that attempted to recapture that feeling. A feeling of wonder,
possibility, curiosity, and even fear. Of course, when we talk
about the 80s, we’re not only talking about one-hit wonders
like “Take On Me” or “You Spin Me Right Round”. Great
songs they may be, but that colourful decade gave much
more than just future karaoke hits. It was a decade that revolutionized
the art of the synth. The Yamaha DX7 Synthesizer, Roland Jupiter-8
Synthesizer, and Roland D-50 Synthesizer are only scraping the long
list of analogue synthesizers that gave life to an endless era of infectious
pop, foot-tapping rock, and the beginning of a mind-warbling electronic
genre. A beginning that seemed to find its footing again in 2019. More than anywhere else,
the 80s were a large influence on electronic music this year. Listen
carefully, and you start finding synthwave influences everywhere,
reviving memories of a time that wasn’t engulfed by a constant stream
of information.
6 Stripped Magazine - June 2020