Modern life can make you desperate to dive into some comforting nostalgia, so may we present synthwave vs vaporwave – it’s the clash of the 80s-influenced microgenres that we’re very much here for. If you’re unfamiliar with these two genres, our expert guide will help you navigate the synth-drenched soundscapes to decide which one you prefer.
Decoding the Soundscapes: Unravelling the Differences Between Synthwave and Vaporwave
Both genres share a love for 80s aesthetics, retro-futuristic sounds and emerged around 2010. So, what are the differences between the two?
What Is Synthwave?
If you’re a fan of 80s style and culture (all those Stranger Things stans, we’re looking at you), then you’ll love synthwave. It’s a genre that’s heavily inspired by 1980s synth music and, much like vaporwave, was born on the internet in the early 2010s.
What Makes a Song Synthwave?
When you’re feeling a bit down in the dumps, then fire up a synthwave playlist – the focus is on classic 70s and 80s synth and drum machine sounds, which are light and bright. It’s got that summery feeling you get when you think of Florida, or Long Beach in California. Vintage arcades, sunsets on a beach, drive-in movie theatres? Very synthwave. It’s also heavily influenced by video game soundtracks and some iconic movie soundtracks and their composers: think Vangelis (Blade Runner), horror maestro John Carpenter and Giorgio Moroder.
Ridley Scott’s futuristic Blade Runner (originally released in 1982) is also an important influence in terms of synthwave’s visual style, which is drenched in neon (so feel free to channel the original Tron as well).
What were the more modern prompts for the rise of synthwave? 2011 film Drive was a frontrunner, featuring ethereal, electronic ambient music by French synthwave pioneer Kavinsky and Cliff Martinez.
You can definitely hear where the Stranger Things theme originated, when you listen to ‘Nightcall’s intro from the Drive soundtrack. If you’re intrigued by synthwave, then check out the work of artists such as Perturbator, Miami Nights 84 and The Midnight, as well as YouTube’s NewRetroWave channel, or explore the soundtracks to Hotline Miami, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon or Crypt of the Necrodancer.
Synthwave is sometimes also called outrun; however, outrun can be seen as a synthwave subgenre – it’s defined by its more instrumental songs. Dreamwave focuses, as you’d expect, on chilled-out synthwave sounds – when you want to really relax, look for a dreamwave playlist on Spotify. Chillwave and dreampop are similarly mellow.
Why is synthwave so popular? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did synthwave drive 80s nostalgia shows like Stranger Things, or did the terrifying-but-fun escapades of Will, Eleven, Steve, Hopper et al drive synthwave’s current popularity? As well as being nostalgic, it can’t be denied that synthwave’s aesthetic is summery and escapist – just what many of us need, given how challenging life’s been over the last few years.
What Is Vaporwave?
Appearing around the same time as synthwave, vaporwave is characterized by its use of sample loops from 80s and 90s music. These are often slowed down, with effects such as reverb and delay added. It’s arguably a broader sub-genre too, as it takes in psychedelia, postmodernism and avant-garde elements, with more of a DIY aesthetic. Find out how to make your own, courtesy of Adam Neely’s guide:
The name came from ‘vaporware’ – a term for commercial software that’s announced – and even advertised, while it’s still in its design stage - but never released. Vaporwave takes new-age optimism, digital synthesis, Sims-inspired computer graphics and call centre hold music and mashes them all together with retro imagery taken from 80s and 90s pop culture.
Musically, it’s often based on samples of easy listening or lounge music, reworked corporate stock and infomercial music – it’s sometimes described as, ‘a nostalgic view of an imagined or actual past that never really existed.’ There’s a heavy use of synths and drum machines, plus vocoders to create a dream-like quality, with slowed-down samples and pitch-shifted vocals. Vaporwave also has a philosophy: by making fun of excessive consumerism’s emptiness, it’s a satirical take on capitalism.
Vaporwave’s pioneers were Daniel Lopatin (aka Chuck Person), whose Eccojams Vol 1 featured chopped-up 80s tunes with loops and delay and Far Side Virtual by James Ferraro, which showcased the genre’s love of computerized voices and chirpy elevator music. Esquire praised Floral Shoppe from Macintosh Plus for its ability to, ‘strike the delicate balance between being a parody of consumerism and actually really nice music to chill to.’ Vaporwave tends to be more ironic in its approach to 80s and 90s aesthetics, whereas synthwave is more sincere in embracing the 80s.
For more vaporwave, have a listen to Blank Banshee, George Glanton, Luxury Elite and Skylar Spence.
If you want a really deep dive of differences between these two retro-futuristic subgenres, you can explore everything from font choices (synthwave’s take their inspiration from 80s film posters and video games, often with a chrome effect; the vaporwave aesthetic apparently favours Times New Roman, as it was a staple of 90s PCs), to grids and glitch effects on the artwork.
Want More 80s Synthwave and Vaporwave?
Check out our albums Synthwave and Retrowave, Retro Electro Pop and some Retro Funk & Soul Grooves. Or take a deeper dive into the history of electronic music with our expert guide.
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