My First Contact with Synthwave

Introduction

It was late 2018, and I was deep in a mindless YouTube scroll. The apartment is dead quiet, the room is dark, and you are passively letting the algorithm feed you whatever it wants. Then, a single thumbnail cut through the noise. It wasn't a loud, clickbait face screaming for attention. It was a moody, cyberpunk-tinged, futuristic scene shot from the inside of a car cruising down an infinite highway. I clicked.

The video was ＳＰＡＣＥ ＴＲＩＰ, a 37-minute curation mix by Asthenic. From the moment the first soft synth note hit I was trapped inside an audio-visual escape capsule. It was my very first contact with Synthwave, and it completely altered my creative taste.

Anatomy of Synthwave

Synthwave (also known as retrowave) is a modern electronic music genre and visual style that captures the nostalgic, sci-fi energy of the 1980s. Instead of copying history, it invents a romanticized, neon-lit version of the decade that only ever truly existed on movie screens.

The entire aesthetic is built on iconic cultural touchstones from that era, borrowing the dark, rain-slicked cityscapes of films like Blade Runner and the pulsing, aggressive synthesizer soundtracks of The Terminator. This retro-futuristic look was further shaped by classic anime like Akira, which popularized the image of neon light streaks trailing behind speeding motorcycles in a high-tech metropolis.

The modern movement was officially reignited by the 2011 movie Drive, launching a massive revival led by artists like Kavinsky, whose track "Nightcall" became the ultimate late-night driving anthem. Synthwave is a sonic and visual fantasy, the beautiful, bass-heavy 1980s we all wish we had.

Inside the Outrun Aesthetic

The visual loop accompanying the Youtube mix (Space Trip) isn’t just background decoration; it is a masterclass in the Synthwave and Outrun aesthetic. If you break down the artwork, you realize exactly why your brain refuses to look away.

• The Cockpit POV: The framing places you directly in the backseat or looking over the shoulder of a driver inside a high-tech sports car. By framing the bottom with a static dashboard and opening up the top to a vast windshield, it pulls you directly into the driver's seat.
• The High Contrast: The color palette is a gorgeous, unforgiving mix of deep purples, electric blues, and neon magentas (my favourite color btw.). But the real magic is the contrast: the dashboard glows with a soft, warm amber light, creating an intensely cozy, enclosed shelter that shields you from the cold, infinite cosmos outside.
• The Endless Highway: A car moving forward at high speed with absolutely no destination, symbolizing total freedom and isolation. The horizon is framed by grid-like geometric wireframes and distant skyscrapers, blending retro 80s arcade vibes with sci-fi.
• The Illusion: The animation uses a clever layered loop. The car interior stays perfectly still and the road lines blur past. It gives you the physical sensation of accelerating while keeping your mind in a deeply calm, meditative state.

Shout out to the digital artists and classic 80s/90s cyberpunk anime cells like Neo Tokyo that pioneered this look. If you want to find out more about the artist from the Youtube video, here is what I found: https://kidmograph.tumblr.com/post/162606191259/c-bertrip, https://x.com/KidMograph and https://www.kidmograph.com/.

Turning Inspiration into a Passion Project

I fell so hard for this specific aesthetic in 2018 that when I sat down to build a public, social sanctuary for music curators, I stole the design language straight from that late-night drive. That is the literal origin story of MyMusic.FM

I wanted a basic web application where music enthusiasts, DJs, and tastemakers could drop a link to a massive 37-minute YouTube mix, categorize it instantly under tags like "Chillwave," and claim ownership of their curation. MyMusic.FM lets you show the world what you actually love.

You can pin your top 6 tracks or mixes right to the top of your profile like a digital record shelf, creating a shareable taste profile at one clean link.

Claim Your Digital Shelf

If you are tired of losing your favorite deep cuts to a chaotic feed, come put them on display. Go to mymusic.fm, grab your custom @username handle, and start building your own personal station.

Or, if you’re not ready to build your shelf yet, just turn off the lights, open up Asthenic’s mix, and get lost on the highway for a bit.