Category Archives: New Retro Wave

Robert Stark interviews New Retro Wave Artist Absolute Valentine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to French New Retro Wave Artist Absolute Valentine(Bandcamp Site). He is also a manager for Lazerdiscs Records. Check out his SoundCloudYouTube, and Facebook Page.

Topics:

Intro Song: Bad News from the Police Heartbreaker album
Music background, learning piano as a kid, playing guitar in a metal band, and early electronic work
Influences ranging from Bach, Kavinsky, and Vangelis; similarities between Synthwave and Classical Music
The New Retro Wave genre
Producing music for Lazerdiscs Records and Drive Radio
The Darkwave genre
The Police Heartbreaker album
The Sunset Love album
The American Nightmare album inspired by Horror Films
The album cover designs, Cyperbunk influence, and the color pallet
Anime, Akira, and Ghost in a Shell
The Film Drive
John Carpenter’s Film Soundtracks
Daft Punk and 90’s French House Music
French 80’s music; Space Disco
The upcoming New Retro Wave horror film The Summoner which Absolute Valentine will do a track for
The Roland TR-7, other Synths, and the process of layering Synths
The importance of the intro and outro in Synth Music
The moniker Absolute Valentine
Upcoming Albums, Tracks, and live performances
Outro: She’s a Dancer from the Sunset Love Album


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Musician Dean Clarke of Brutalist Architecture in the Sun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to musician Dean Clarke. He does vocals and electronics for the band Brutalist Architecture in the Sun based in the UK. Check them out on Facebook and YouTube

Topics:

Intro Song: Love & Science (feat. Paul Humphries from the Concrete Pop Album
Dean’s background in music and his original band 3D the band
Influences from electronic music from the early 80’s including Gary Numan and Tangerine Dream
90’s influences including Front 242Nine Inch Nails, and Skinny Puppy
The New Retro Wave genre; FM-84
Darkwave
Minimal Wave Records
The hybrid sound of 80’s Synthwave and 90’s Industrial Music, and the trend of fusionism
Performance at Zigfrid von Underbelly in London
Band of the month for Artefaktor Radio
Dean’s vocals, and Cye Thomas who also does vocals for the band
The use of the Korg MS-20 Synth
The aesthetics of the album covers Dean designs, fusing Brutalist and Industrial imagery with bright fluorescent colors
Brutalist architectureTrellick Tower, The Underground, and Centre Point in London, John C. Portman Jr., and the revived interest in Brutalism
Cyberpunk, the London Trocadero, and 80’s arcades
Victorian era Railway Stations in London
Urban exploration and dead mall enthusiast
Economics and political themes in music
The de-industrialization of the UK
Depeche Mode’s Where’s the Revolution
The marketing and consumption of music on the internet
The band’s new album Post Democracy from live performances


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Italo Disco Artist Andy Fox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Italian musician and composer Andy Fox. Check out his music on SoundCloudBandcampFacebook, and Twitter

Topics:

Intro Song: “Tempus Fugit EP” (OUT NOW! on Sunlover Rercords)
Creating New music inspired by 80’s Italo disco; The New Retro Wave Genre
Andy’s background in music and early influences including Martinelli and Scotch
The aesthetics of Andy’s album covers
80’s Italian Design, Car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, Fashion, and Ugo La Pietra’s Interior Designs
The Synth of Nu Shooz – “I Can’t Wait”, and how it reminds Pilleater of Andy’s music
The Nu-disco genre
Andy’s music based on work by new artists
Vocals by Laura for his song Fly Away 
Andy’s favorite synthesizers


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

Robert Stark talks to Tiffany & James From the Band Fire Tiger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to vocalist Tiffany, and keyboardist James from the Band Fire Tiger. Check them out on FacebookYouTube and Twitter.

Topics:

The start of Fire Tiger in 2011, how they met, and the origins of the name
James’s prior cover band Danger Zone LA
80’s nostalgia, 60’s and 70’s influences, and personal musical influences
Fire Tiger’s music video Energy, LA footage, the unintentional 80’s vibe, and the cinematography by their friend Todd Rosenberg
Fire Tiger’s Green Light music video inspired by Phil Collins’ Take Me Home
Inspiration from TV soundtracks such as The Greatest American Hero Theme Song
The Jetsons The Movie song “You and Me”(Tiffany) and Tiffany ‘s I Think We’re Alone Now
Fire Tiger’s upcoming performance on Thursday, March 16th at the Viper Room in LA(more info on Twitter, email WEB@FireTigerMusic.com for discounts)
Past performances at the House of Blues and Whiskey on the Sunset Strip, and how most of their show are in LA
The New Retro Wave Genre, and how Fire Tiger’s style differs
The Keytar; the practical vs aesthetic appeal
The 80’s Roland Juno-106 and software synths
The 80’s aesthetic and design
Local 80’s stations; 93.1 Jack FM
Modern music and trends in vocals
Music Promotion and Social Media


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

Robert Stark interviews Darren Toni

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Darren Toni. Darren is the producer of DRIVE Radio and Lazerdiscs Records.

Topics:

Intro Song: Aileron – Stratosphere
The release of Robert Parker’s Lazerdiscs album Awakening
Darren’s background in the music industry, and how he got involved with Drive Radio
The New Retro Wave Genre, it’s unique sounds, and audience
The Film Drive, featuring College, Electric Youth, and Kavinsky, and how the film exposed the genre to the masses
The Artists produced by Lazerdiscs Records and Drive Radio
Darren’s nostalgia growing up in the 80’s, and the original New Wave Genre
90’s Euro House Music
80’s Aesthetics, Video Game Arcades, The London Trocadero
80’s visions of the future, and New Retro Wave illustrations
Brutalist Architecture in the Sun
Darren’s book New Heights, the Surreal Aspect of the book, and the illustration by artist William Holder
Themes including the meaning of life, love, despair, and death
Video Synthesis
Darren’s next book which is a science fiction novel murder mystery that deals with themes of social inequality
Vaporwave


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Check out Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews New Retro Wave Artist Robert Parker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Robert Parker. Robert Parker is a Synthwave/New Retro Wave musician  from Stockholm, Sweden. Check out his SoundCloudTwitter, and Facebook Page

Topics:

How Robert started making tracker techno music in the 1990’s, and got into New Retro Wave in 2009 after buying a Korg Polysix analog synthesizer
His use of a variety of hardware synthesizers in his music including the Roland Juno 106
The New Retro Wave Genre, how the film Drive exposed the genre to the masses
The Noire sounds of Kavinsky in contrast with the more upbeat Retrowave Sound of College; Parallels to Vaporwave and Cyberpunk
Robert’s nostalgia for growing up in the 80’s, early influences, and the Swedish media in the 80’s
Italo discoNeue Deutsche Welle(Alphaville), 90’s French House Music(Daft Punk)
The audience of New Retro Wave(40% United States and 40% Russia and Europe, largely men in their 30’s, but a growing number of women in their early 20’s
Robert’s vinyl album Crystal City on NewRetroWave Records
Robert’s new album Awakening for Lazerdiscs Records
Robert’s upcoming performance with College, and Waveshaper at the new club NEON on March 18th in Stockholm
NewRetroWave Records, which is the main company that produces New Retro Wave music
Illustrator Florian Renner who designed Robert’s Crystal City Album, and Miami Nights 1984′ Accelerated, and his animations of 80’s Retro-Futuristic Cities
Russian artist Aleksey Rico who designed the poster for the Chiptune Retro Wave Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia
The footage from films used in New Retro Wave Videos,  Robert’s favorite 80’s films, and the influence of the film Tron on New Retro Wave aesthetics
Robert’s thoughts on youtube channels uploading his work
Pilleater’s Parody using Andy Milonakis rapping over Miami Nights 1984


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Check out Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

Robert Stark, Rabbit, & Alex von Goldstein discuss Retro Futurism

Eighties-Fu

 

 

 

 

 

Sov-Fu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It-Fu

Vic-Fu

Topics include:

The concept of Retro Futurism as how the past envisioned the future
How in the 20th Century society was undergoing rapid change and technological progress
How people today are either pessimistic about the future, or view the present as the future(The Current Year)
Whether Retro Futurism is pure fantasy, an alternative universe, or a blueprint for the future
The Future portrayed in film from utopia to dystopia
The 1927 film Metropolis, which was the first major future film, and inspired by Italian Futurism
How Art Deco was the first major futurist movement in Architecture, and perfectly combines Futurism and Tradition
How Neon Lighting has symbolized the future from the Art Deco era to the 80’s Cyberbunk aesthetic
The Synthwave/New Retro Wave Genre in music that emerged in the mid 2000’s, inspired by  80’s New Wave(ex. FM Attack, Robots with Rayguns, Electric YouthCollegeKavinsky)
How 80’s music was much more future oriented than today’s music
Greg Johnson reviews New Order’s Music 
The Euro-centric and deconstructionist elements to Electronic Music
Rabbit’s involvement in the early 90’s rave scene, and how it started out as futuristic but fizzled out into trashy pop culture
The revival of the 60’s Brit pop sound in the 90’s
How culture has become stagnant and people are looking to the past for inspiration
Vaporwave, which is an aesthetic that emerged online, inspired by 80’s and early 90’s illustrations, video games, and elevator music
The Vaporwave Documentary
Donald Trump as an 80’s Retro-Futurist Vaporwave Icon
Cyberpunk, how it was inspired by 80’s Films such as Blade Runner, as well as Science Fiction writer Issac Asimov, it’s popularity with the Dark Enlightenment and Silicon Valley Techno-libertarians.
Steampunk, which a Futurist movement inspired by Victorian Aesthetics, Old Train Stations, and Science Fiction writers such as HG Wells and Jules Verne
Islamic Retro Futurism
The Mid Century Space age aesthetic
Soviet Retro Futurism
Las Vegas, the Retro-Futurist theme to the city, and hypothetical casino designs(Steampunk, Art Deco, Midcentury Space Age, Cyberpunk, Vaporwave)
Architect John C. Portman Jr. who built futuristic hotels with massive atrium in the 70’s and 80’s
The 80’s mall aesthetic, and how 80’s malls were a lot more futuristic and innovative than the ones being built today
Alex’s point that there is a transcendent element to the mall experience
How Retro-Futurism provides inspiration for architecture and urbanism
How Retro-Futurism offer a Third Alternative to the past and present course
How right wing publications tend to be mostly political, while left wing ones will focus on culture and insert politics
Whether Retro-Futurism is an aesthetic for a New Political Movement(ex.Radical Centrism)

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Check out Robert Stark’s Artwork