Kyle Dixon and College are the two artists in the Frekvenci archive who share a label with Power Glove, in both cases Invada. Beyond them, cyberpunk and electro tags lead to Vector Seven and Mega Drive. All four lean towards the cinematic, game-score end of synthwave, which is where Power Glove lives.
The soundtrack for a game that never existed
Power Glove are two brothers, working part-time on music alongside day jobs; the archive files them under Melbourne, and our Australian scene report shows where they sit in that country's catalogue. In a 2013 Gamereactor interview they said they had started a few years earlier by posting tracks on MySpace, began with 16-bit-style chiptunes and moved towards the VHS-era sound of 1980s and 1990s films; Vangelis, prog rock and kung fu films come up as influences.[2] Ubisoft emailed about using one song, the brothers replied with a medley, and the work grew into the score for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, with a brief that called for John Carpenter and Terminator homages.[2]
The result was 25 original tracks, streaming on the band's SoundCloud page before the game was out.[1] A vinyl edition followed on Invada Records, the label run by Portishead's Geoff Barrow: a neon-pink double LP limited to 1,000 copies, released on 19 April 2014.[3] The score works because it plays a character, a 1980s idea of the future. Look for the same commitment in the neighbours below.
The archive lists 7 Power Glove releases from 2008 to 2021: EP1 on Invada, Trials of the Blood Dragon (Original Game Soundtrack) on Ubisoft Music (2016), two 2019 releases on So Bad, and 2043 (2021). The original Blood Dragon album does not appear as its own listing. All carry the synthwave tag, with electro and synth-pop as secondary tags.
Invada's other artists
- Kyle Dixon (6 releases, 2017–2022) shares Invada. The archive's entry is Stranger Things 4 (Original Score From The Netflix Series), a score for a series built, like Blood Dragon, on 1980s pastiche. His band side is mapped in If you like Survive: artists to try next.
- College (France, 8 releases, 2008–2021) shares Invada. The archive lists A Real Hero, a 2021 release of his best-known song.
Cyberpunk and electro tags
Vector Seven (Germany, 18 releases, 2017–2026) carries cyberpunk and electro tags, and Hardwired, a darksynth single, is on V7 Records. Mega Drive (US, 29 releases, 2012–2026) has the same two, with Theme Cartridge. El Pedro Vidrio (Sweden, 16 releases) offers a self-released EP, El Hombre Vidrio, and VHS Glitch (Japan, 20 releases) carries both tags with Alt Freqs. For the game side of this sound, our Synthwave and video games: from Out Run to Hotline Miami and Synthwave for game developers: licences, sources and credits pages go further.
Keep the electro, lose the theme
Orax (Italy, 16 releases, 2011–2025) has an album on NewRetroWave, Blame. Arcade Metropolis (Greece, 16 releases, 2012–2016) put out Fantasy Wheels on Werkstatt Recordings. Nexus-6 (Argentina, 12 releases) is an older name: Love and Witchcraft. Carpenter Brut (France, 19 releases) is the heavier cousin, since Ubisoft's brief for Power Glove named Carpenter; his latest is Leather Temple, and the If you like Carpenter Brut: artists to try next page covers his circle.
Smaller names worth a try: NightStop (Finland, 13 releases) with KYOTOKYO 1999, Night Runner (Mexico, 10 releases) with the single Roswell (Hangar 18 version), and Thomas Barrandon (France, 4 releases) with Constant Motion, on La Ruche.
The biggest name on the shared-tag list by catalogue, Makeup and Vanity Set, is a much broader artist, so we leave it out here. Matches come from the one shared label first and tags second; country is known for only part of the archive. For the film side, see Synthwave and 1980s film scores: Carpenter, Vangelis and the sound of the screen. The score-like, driving end suits the Night Drive station (92.0 FM), and the shinier side the Future station (95.9 FM). Browse all synthwave releases and filter by label to follow Invada.
Records to start with
- Power Glove · 2016 · Ubisoft Music · LPA game score from the duo, 2016.
- Kyle Dixon · 2022 · Lakeshore Records · LPA TV score from a fellow Invada artist.
Sources
- The Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon Soundtrack Fits Like A Glove · Game Informer, 24 Apr 2013
- The Music of Blood Dragon: Interview · Gamereactor, 1 May 2013
- Invada to release Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon soundtrack for Record Store Day · FACT Magazine, 13 Mar 2014