Here is the interview of one of the biggest names of the Synthwave phenomenon, the very discreet and mysterious, ‘Miami Nights 1984’. With only two albums and a few remixes to his credit, the musician took us very far in the 80’s by becoming a true icon in a short time. With the creation of his own Label alongside his friend ‘Lazerhawk’, the artist wins a great respect in the Retrowave community. Michael aka ‘MN84’, talks about the origin of his project name, his influences, his hit ‘Ocean Drive’, the last informations of ‘Rosso Corsa’, his upcoming album and more. Happy reading everyone!
Retro Synthwave: Hello MN84, could you present yourself to ‘Retro Synthwave’ followers?
Miami Nights 1984: I’m Michael Glover from Victoria BC Canada, and I make 80’s inspired music under the names Miami Nights 1984, Actrazer and Stallions.
How come you chose ‘Miami Night 1984’ as project name? Miami Vice?
I started out as Act Raiser but ran into another producer under the same name, so I chose the longest worst name I could think of… Yes it’s a tribute to the opening season of Miami Vice.
What musical training did you follow to become a Synthwave figure?
I had guitar lessons when I was younger but I’m mostly self taught on the keys.
Is there any precise reason to have chosen an 80’s sound?
I liked the 80s aesthetic.
What are your major influences when you compose?
I loved the emotion from John Hughes films and anything scored by Tangerine Dream.
In which conditions did you release your first album ‘Early Summer’ in 2010?
I was mostly inspired by the summer of that year, and going to the beach I guess.
« mostly inspired by the summer »
Your ‘Turbulence’ album shook the planet with tracks like ‘Ocean Drive’. Do you think you know why?
Ocean Drive was a special track for me, I had taken a break from music for a couple of years and wanted to come back with something to thank my fans with. It was really cool to see people receive it so well. Im guessing it hit the right emotional trigger for people.
Why did you chose to create your own label ‘Rosso Corsa Records’ with your friend Gareth aka Lazerhawk?
Well that’s easy… because he’s a synth god and a rad dude.
What’s your label’s latest release and what are the next ones?
Our latest release was “The Space Tapes” by Syntax. We have releases lined up from Vector Wolf, Betamaxx and Amazing Police.
You’re really talented for remixing other bands. How do you add your touch to their compositions?
I mostly strip everything away except for the vocals and make the track from scratch to give it my touch. I’m not doing any remixes at the moment to focus on my new album and side projects.
We’re desperately waiting for another album since 2012. Can you give us any spicy news?
I wanted to have it finished a long time ago, but I keep rewriting tracks and new ones… I really want this new album to be something special for the listener and to be different from the other two albums. It was way too hot in the studio to get any work done over the summer but I should hopefully have it ready after this winter haha.
« I really want this new album to be something special for the listener »
What do you think of the Synthwave genre phenomenon? Would you like to compose the soundtracks of retro events like ‘Stranger Things’ or ‘Kung Fury’?
I think it’s what the film industry has been waiting for. It’s essentially a genre based off of soundtracks so it makes sense. Yeah, it would be cool to score something like that for sure.
With which gear and softwares do you compose?
Right now Im all analogue except for Ableton. DMX, Linndrum, Drumtrax, 707, 505, Juno60, MN84 edition Kiwi106, Jx3p, Super Jupiter, tx81z, EMAX, Model D, Prophet6, Pro1, poly6, poly61m, DX7, AX80, OBXA, a few other synths and a ton of outboard gear.
Do you have any further projects aside MN84 and Synthwave music?
Yeah I’m always working on other projects…
I have a chillwave/vaporwave project called Stallions, a 90s house project called Michell Gantier, a rap group called $nax and Im working on a trap project right now.
A BIG thanks to Michael the master of 80s Synths
Interview & Layout by Space Master
Supervised by Mikael Schutz