For this last day of December, we present our ranking of 20 Synthwave favorites tracks throughout 2019. With effective Synthpop, in space with quality Dreamwave, very creepy Darksynth and shiny Chillwave. An ideal playlist to celebrate the New Year with Retro style.

From January 1^st to December 31^st, 2019, we listened to a lot of excellent songs in our speakers/headphones. It was very complicated to implement because the year was very rich in creativity. So we decided to present our 20 favorite tracks that absolutely deserve your attention. Great discoveries but also the return of bands that we will no longer present. You can listen to The Weeknd, Electric Youth, Power Glove, Com Truise, Trevor Something, Futurecop! but also many other talented artists from around the world. All the team wish you a wonderful year 2020 with a lot of Happiness and especially a LOT of Synthwave Music. So… Here we go!

After a few rock/electro albums, the American singer-songwriter Trevor Something returned in February 2019 with a Synthwave album called ‘Bots don’t Cry’. There was some very good songs and it was I want your Love that won us over. A captivating vocal for a wonderful and happy music. The result? A real sonic blessing for our ears!

The Australian brothers Power Glove gave us a lot of music in 2019. With their album ‘Playback’ released in May but also with an excellent EP ‘Trowback’ released for Halloween, in October. Despite a wide choice of excellent tracks, Nightmare is our favorite. With scary melodies and a powerful energy as usual. These brothers are definitely legends of the Synthwave scene.

The English prodigy Futurecop! released in March 2019 a very nice album called Voltrana. It was the song We Belong, with the fantastic Canadian singer Parallels, which charmed us the most. An incredible voice for melodies that would be perfect for a sequel of the legendary movie « Drive » (from Nicolas Winding Refn). Well done !

After ‘Innerworld’ released in 2014 (with the famous ‘A Real Hero’), the Canadian duo Electric Youth returned with Memory Emotion in 2019. The Life, released in May, was their first single. A very nice ride in the stars with a very captivating female voice. What a beautiful comeback!

The huge R&B celebrity The Weeknd surprised us all in November 2019 with the arrival of Blinding Lights, his second single (of his future LP) with a mysterious Synthwave atmosphere. An extremely efficient frenetic rhythm, fantastic 80s synthesizer sounds with a vocal which sticks very well. We love it!

The undisputed master of mid-fi Synthwave Com Truise returned in May 2019 with a fantastic album named ‘Persuasion System’. The track Existence Schematic has left its mark on us. With memorable melodies, lovely 80s sounds, a very effective slow-motion funk rhythm. A real treat!

An excellent remix (composed for a competition) of the song The Drone Racing League from GUNSHIP by the gifted Color Theory. The voice of Alex with the magic and captivating composition of Brian Hazard give us a river of sonic emotions. A real gem even better than the original!

The great American composer Scandroid asked the French genius Tommy ’86 to revisit his excellent song New York City Nights. A fantastic futuristic retro remix, which instantly projects us into the visual universe between Miami Vice and Blade Runner. An incredible sound atmosphere, we are in love with this remix!

For Halloween 2019, the French composer Absolute Valentine has decided to recompose the song Cabin Fever by Hirohiko Takayama from the 1989 game, Friday the 13th (NES). He gave an incredibly effective and punchy track. Perfect for dancing with zombies on a bloody dancefloor!

The French composer LÜNE released a very good EP called ‘Souvenirs’ in July 2019. The incredible track Places is one of them and it’s our favorite. In terms of melody, rhythm, bassline … it’s a real sonic blessing. A thousand Bravos, Places is an essential track into the world of Synthwave!

It’s a long story between us and our friend from France. Douze, the hidden son of the legendary Alan Braxe, signed his short album ‘Rise & Fall’ in November 2019 on NRW Records. The track Lust to Dust is a pure escape into the 80s cosmos, a blessing for our ears. Magnificent sounds, intense melodies with Rhayader’s guitar chords. In short, a must for Synthwave lovers!

The sound engineer and composer from US Tonebox released in October 2019 a very good LP named Cloud Highway with the fantastic track Space Disco. A wonderful ride between Synthawe and French House with a very appreciable electro touch. A feast for the ears!

As the first single from the soundtrack of the great documentary ‘In Search of Darkness’, NewRetroWave have decided to unveil the track Vendetta by the Danish musician Wice. A melody that straight out of the greatest 80s horror films with an appalling rhythm. Very impactful!

The French composer A.L.I.S.O.N released in October 2019 a very great EP named ‘Signal Flow’. The wonderful track Overflow is taken from it. With magnificent melodies and powerfull rhytms, a space escape that immediately transports us to a fantastic world of nostalgia. Fan-tas-tic!

The Belgian musician Voyage released in February 2019 a huge single named Allude that we discovered in the excellent Youtube channel ‘Electronic Gems’. An effective bassline, wonderful melodies, very pleasant 80s sounds, everything is there! This track is haunting.

The very mysterious musician from US, Mega Drive, released his last LP ‘199XAD’ in October 2019 on Fixt Neon. The track NARCS has largely captured our attention with its energy, its violence and its effectiveness once the volume is very high. A pure Darksynth gem comin from cyber hell!

In March 2019, the Argentinian musician Time Travel decided to release a lot of retrowave tracks (30) in an album called ‘Retrowave Single Vol.2’. Among these many singles, Crockett’s Dream, an energetic and very effective cover of the legendary song by Jan Hammer for Miami Vice, icon of the 80s.

The Swedish musician Waveshaper released in May 2019 his album ‘Artifact’ with the very good track named 100Mhz. Very catchy with melodies and sounds that fill us with nostalgia of retrogaming. Come on, let’s play the game!

In May 2019, the French musician Krosia released a magnificent EP entitled ‘Reflection’ with two great tracks. Slight Days was love at first sight. An incredible bassline, wonderful melodies and slow but powerful rhythms. A real sound beauty which gave us some good positive vibes!

The German composer Rosentwig released his EP ‘February Leftovers’ in March 2019. The track Pripyat has a special place. It begins as a Dreamwave ride with a very catchy melody and then gets excited with a catchy rhythm. Effective, we love it!

Retro Synwhave wish you a HAPPY new year.
Don’t forget to dance and have fun!

Artwork made with 20 covers
Synthwave Logo by James White