There is no honest ranking of the best synthwave artists, so this page skips one. It gives you 25 names in six groups, each with its catalogue size and years in the Frekvenci archive, and one record to start on. The archive lists 3,756 synthwave artists. These 25 are the ones that soundtracks, interviews and published lists keep naming, plus a few picked for the size and spread of their catalogue.
How the 25 were picked
We looked for three things in order. Did the artist appear in the story we could source: a film or game score (Drive, Blood Dragon, Kung Fury, Stranger Things), a best-of list or their own interview? Does the archive hold enough of their work to start somewhere? Does each new name add a corner of the sound that the earlier ones leave out? The first test favours the famous; the third corrects for it.
Counts are listed releases in the archive (MusicBrainz and Discogs data, music with a listen link), with the first and last year on file. A year can be a reissue date, and country is known for only part of the archive.
The founders
These five sit near the start of the story: the French and Western European blogs of the mid-2000s, then Swedish, Canadian and American labels.[1]
- Kavinsky (France, 10 releases, 2005 to 2022). "Nightcall" was on the Drive soundtrack, which carried the sound to a mass audience, and OutRun followed in 2013 on Record Makers. Start with OutRun; our guide to artists like Kavinsky maps where to go next. Kavinsky, born Vincent Belorgey, was found dead at his home in Paris in July 2026, aged 50.[15]
- College (France, 8 releases, 2008 to 2021). David Grellier says he began the Valerie blog in Nantes in April 2007.[2] Start with A Real Hero, the song he made with Electric Youth.
- Lazerhawk (United States, 6 releases, 2010 to 2017). Redline is dated 2010 on Rosso Corsa Records, near the start of the instrumental road-music records in the archive. musicbytheg puts Dreamrider at No. 2 on its list.[8] Start with Redline, then see If you like Lazerhawk: artists to try next.
- Miami Nights 1984 (Canada, 10 releases, 2010 to 2026). Also a Rosso Corsa artist, and on musicbytheg's list with Turbulence.[8] Start with Turbulence.
- Mitch Murder (Sweden, 10 releases, 2011 to 2021). He scored Kung Fury and co-wrote its theme with David Hasselhoff. Rosso Corsa said his "clean pads, complex bass lines, and clever chord progressions" won the label over.[3] Start with Kung Fury (Lost Tapes), and follow with If you like Mitch Murder: artists to try next.
The breakout generation
These artists reached beyond the scene through games, television and big-label deals.
- Power Glove (Australia, 7 releases, 2008 to 2021). The duo wrote the 25 original tracks of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (2013).[6] Start with Trials of the Blood Dragon (Original Game Soundtrack); the archive dates it 2016, which is a reissue date. If you like Power Glove: artists to try next has more like it.
- Survive (United States, 7 releases, 2010 to 2018). Two members, Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, scored Stranger Things, and the band's Relapse debut RR7349 followed.[5] Start with RR7349, then If you like Survive: artists to try next.
- GUNSHIP (United Kingdom, 18 releases, 2015 to 2025). A British trio formed in 2014, drawing on 1980s films, cartoons and video games.[10] Start with GUNSHIP; If you like GUNSHIP: artists to try next lists neighbours.
- FM-84 (United States, 4 releases, 2016 to 2020). Atlas was No. 1 on NewRetroWave's 2016 album list.[7] Start with Atlas, and see If you like FM-84: artists to try next.
- Com Truise (United States, 11 releases, 2011 to 2023). Seth Haley released Cyanide Sisters as a free download in 2010; Ghostly International reissued it in January 2011.[18] The archive tags that EP chillwave, which tells you how close the two genres sit. Start with Cyanide Sisters; If you like Com Truise: artists to try next goes further.
- Le Matos (Canada, 16 releases, 2011 to 2025). The Turbo Kid soundtrack is on musicbytheg's list.[8] Start with Chronicles of the Wasteland / Turbo Kid (original motion picture soundtrack).
The dark side
Heavier artists, closer to horror film and metal. The tag count and history are in What is darksynth? The heavy, horror-lit side of synthwave.
- Perturbator (France, 14 releases, 2012 to 2025). His music was on the Hotline Miami soundtrack (2012),[16] and in 2021 he told Metal Hammer that he had moved towards "electro-goth".[14] Start with Dangerous Days on Blood Music, then If you like Perturbator: artists to try next.
- Carpenter Brut (France, 19 releases, 2012 to 2026). The largest catalogue among the dark names. Start with TRILOGY, three EPs collected in 2015, and If you like Carpenter Brut: artists to try next.
- Dance With the Dead (United States, 9 releases, 2013 to 2024). Justin Pointer and Tony Kim of Irvine, California, who name horror films as their main inspiration.[12] Start with Out of Body, their self-released 2013 debut, then If you like Dance With the Dead: artists to try next.
- GosT (United States, 14 releases, 2013 to 2024). Louder's 2017 feature on synthwave in the underground profiles him.[21] The archive lists Nocturnal Shift on Werkstatt Recordings.
- John Carpenter (United States, 12 releases, 2016 to 2024). Not a synthwave artist but one of its named ancestors: a 2023 study of synthwave soundtracks lists him with Tangerine Dream, Giorgio Moroder and Vangelis as sources of inspiration.[17] His archive entries begin in 2016 with his own recordings, such as John Carpenter's Lost Themes.
The dreamers
- Timecop1983 (Netherlands, 23 releases, 2013 to 2023). Jordy Leenaerts, from Eindhoven, says Mitch Murder and the Drive soundtrack pointed him towards 1980s-style music.[4] Start with Reflections; If you like Timecop1983: artists to try next lists neighbours.
- Waveshaper (Sweden, 4 releases, 2014 to 2022). Tom Andersson works with hardware, including the ARP 2600, Roland Jupiter-4 and Korg MS-20,[11] and Station Nova was No. 4 on NewRetroWave's 2016 list.[7] Start with Retro Future.
- Michael Oakley (United Kingdom, 9 releases, 2017 to 2023). Releases on TimeSlave Recordings and NewRetroWave. Start with California. He is here for the size and steadiness of his catalogue.
Vocal synthwave
- The Midnight (United States, 26 releases, 2014 to 2025). Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan, who met in Los Angeles in 2012; Endless Summer (2016) was No. 2 on NewRetroWave's 2016 list.[9][7] Start with Endless Summer, then If you like The Midnight: 10 artists to try next.
- Sunglasses Kid (United Kingdom, 21 releases, 2013 to 2024). A long run of singles. Start with MY 80S ROMANCE; again the catalogue is the reason.
- Macintosh Plus (United States, 5 releases, 2011 to 2021). The odd one out, on purpose: this is vaporwave, included because the two genres are so often mixed up. Floral Shoppe first appeared on cassette in December 2011.[20] Start with Floral Shoppe; the comparison is in Synthwave vs vaporwave: same neon, different music, and If you like Macintosh Plus: artists to try next has similar records.
Newer names
- Scandroid (United States, 26 releases, 2014 to 2023). The project of Klayton, who is based in Detroit, on FiXT Music.[19] Start with Scandroid; the label is profiled at FiXT Neon, and If you like Scandroid: artists to try next lists neighbours.
- Magic Sword (United States, 13 releases, 2015 to 2023). A trio from Boise, Idaho, formed in 2013, with two songs in the Hotline Miami 2 soundtrack.[13] Start with Volume 1.
- Kalax (United Kingdom, 8 releases, 2013 to 2025). Start with Journey.
"New" is relative. Every artist here has a decade or more of releases. The newest names in the archive mostly aren't on these lists, because published lists lag the catalogue by years.
Catalogue sizes, side by side
| Artist | Listed releases | Active years in archive |
|---|---|---|
| The Midnight | 26 | 2014 to 2025 |
| Scandroid | 26 | 2014 to 2023 |
| Timecop1983 | 23 | 2013 to 2023 |
| Sunglasses Kid | 21 | 2013 to 2024 |
| Carpenter Brut | 19 | 2012 to 2026 |
| Gunship | 18 | 2015 to 2025 |
| Le Matos | 16 | 2011 to 2025 |
| Perturbator | 14 | 2012 to 2025 |
| GosT | 14 | 2013 to 2024 |
| Magic Sword | 13 | 2015 to 2023 |
Notice who is missing from the top: Kavinsky has 10 listed releases and College 8. The records people name most are not from the biggest catalogues. Meanwhile the busiest artists in the archive, such as Makeup and Vanity Set with 131 synthwave-family releases, are not on this page, because the sources we used do not make them famous. Counting is not the same as importance.
Which door suits you?
Start from what you already like. If you came through the Drive soundtrack, begin with Kavinsky and College, and look at Italians Do It Better, the label behind the Chromatics and Desire songs that sat in the same film; its page explains the link. If you like film scores, go to Survive, Power Glove and Mitch Murder. If you want metal energy, take Carpenter Brut and Perturbator. If you want night-driving instrumentals, Lazerhawk and Waveshaper. For songs with singers, The Midnight and FM-84 lead into Synthpop and synthwave: where the 1980s sound meets the revival.
Labels are another way in. NewRetroWave and Rosso Corsa Records each connect several artists above, and the genre guides give each sound its own context: Retrowave: the name, the sound and where it overlaps synthwave, Outrun music: the racing-game sound of synthwave and Dreamwave: synthwave's soft, nostalgic side. If you were drawn by the Japanese side, try Future funk: vaporwave's dance floor, explained with If you like Night Tempo: artists to try next, or the barber-beats corner via If you like haircuts for men: artists to try next. Neither is synthwave, but they share the same listeners.
Records to start with
- Lazerhawk · 2010 · Rosso Corsa Records · LPInstrumental road music dated 2010 on Rosso Corsa.
For the history behind these names, read A short history of synthwave, from French blogs to the charts; for the albums, The best synthwave albums, and what the lists agree on. To hear them in context, tune the Night Drive station (92.0 FM).
Sources
- Synthwave (used as a map to its references) · Wikipedia
- Valerie Stories: 10 Years of College's Essential LP 'Secret Diary' · Vehlinggo, 26 Nov 2018
- Catching Up With Mitch Murder, King of the 80s Revival · Vehlinggo, 26 Jul 2015
- What Does the Future Hold for Timecop1983? · Vehlinggo, 1 Jul 2015
- S U R V I V E, Synths, and the Music of 'Stranger Things' · Bandcamp Daily, 5 Aug 2016
- The Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon Soundtrack Fits Like A Glove · Game Informer, 24 Apr 2013
- Top Ten Retrowave Albums of 2016 · Filip Galetic, NewRetroWave, 26 Dec 2016
- Top 10: Synthwave 101 Albums · musicbytheg, 4 Sep 2019
- The Midnight (band) · Wikipedia
- Gunship (band) · Wikipedia
- Waveshaper (musician) · Wikipedia
- Dance with the Dead · Wikipedia
- Magic Sword (band) · Wikipedia
- Synthwave is dead: how Perturbator embraced the dark side · Dannii Leivers, Louder / Metal Hammer, 17 Jun 2021
- French DJ Kavinsky found dead in Paris home · France 24, 29 Jul 2026
- Hotline Miami · Wikipedia
- More 1980s than the 1980s: Hauntological and Hyperreal Meanings of Synthwave Soundtracks · Mattia Merlini, Sound Stage Screen 3(1), 2023
- Com Truise · Wikipedia
- Scandroid · Wikipedia
- Macintosh Plus's Floral Shoppe is coming to vinyl · Tiny Mix Tapes, 7 Aug 2017
- Resonant evil: how synthwave is taking over the underground · Dom Lawson, Louder / Metal Hammer, 2 Feb 2017