Futurecop is the natural first stop after Timecop1983: Vehlinggo names him as a collaborator, and the archive links the two through a shared label. The sung counterpart is The Midnight, and the producer Timecop1983 points to as his starting point is Mitch Murder. Beyond them, label overlaps add a few less obvious names.
Slow and romantic on purpose
Timecop1983 is Jordy Leenaerts from Eindhoven. He told Vehlinggo in 2015 that he had been making music since he was 12, learned it on DOS-based tracker software that a friend showed him, and decided to make 1980s-style music after hearing Mitch Murder and the Drive soundtrack. His aim, in his words: "a melancholic and romantic feeling".[1] That sentence is a better guide than any tag, so when you hunt for similar artists, look for warmth and slowness, not speed.
The archive lists 23 releases from 2013 to 2023, 14 of them self-released. Tags are few and plain: synthwave, synth-pop, pop, dreamwave. Highlights run from the single "Lonely Nights" (2013) to Childhood Memories (2014), Reflections (2015), Faded Touch (2021) and Searching for Tomorrow (2023). Vehlinggo expected Reflections on 3 July 2015 on NewRetroWave's new label, while the archive files it under TimeSlaves, so treat the label as uncertain.[1]
Five of the 23 releases date from 2014 alone, the busiest year of his archive run; our Synthwave in 2014: the year in the archive page sets that year in context. After that his output settles into a few singles, EPs and an occasional album each year, a quieter pace than many of the names below.
The label circle
Timecop1983 shares labels (TimeSlaves, TimeSlave Recordings, Future City Records, Playmaker) with several artists, and the archive counts those links double. Our Future City Records: label profile and where to start page covers one of them.
- Futurecop! (UK, 18 releases, 2008–2025) is a named collaborator.[1] Pop and synth-pop tags, plus TimeSlave Recordings as the shared label. Try Wind, Town & Flowers.
- W O L F C L U B (UK, 26 releases, 2017–2025) shares both TimeSlaves labels and the pop and synth-pop tags (similarity 0.75): Lake Street.
- IVERSEN (UK, 3 releases, 2017–2021) is a very small catalogue with a high similarity rating of 0.93, on TimeSlave Recordings. Start with House Plants.
- The G (US, 8 releases, 2016–2024) shares both TimeSlaves labels; Highway of Love is on NewRetroWave.
- Diamond Field (US, 8 releases, 2014–2021) shares Future City Records and has the highest similarity of the group (0.98), though it is a small catalogue. Try the self-titled Diamond Field.
The sung and the sourced
The Midnight (US, 26 releases) is the sung counterpart. Wikipedia says the Drive score was an early inspiration for Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan, the same starting point Timecop1983 describes.[3] Try Endless Summer, and see If you like The Midnight: 10 artists to try next for their circle.
Mitch Murder (Sweden) is the producer he credits. Vehlinggo's 2015 interview with him covers Kung Fury and the song "True Survivor" with David Hasselhoff.[2] Try Kung Fury: Lost Tapes; his circle is in If you like Mitch Murder: artists to try next.
Large and small catalogues
- SelloRekT / LA Dreams (US, 51 releases, 2013–2025) has a synth-pop tag and the TimeSlave Recordings link: Data.
- Vincenzo Salvia (Italy, 32 releases, 2012–2024) shares three of Timecop1983's labels, but tag overlap is thin (0.10), so this is a label lead only: Europarty.
- Satellite Young (Japan, 12 releases, 2014–2019) shares Future City Records and TimeSlaves: New World Banzai.
Matches come from labels first, then tags. For the genre context, Dreamwave: synthwave's soft, nostalgic side and Retrowave: the name, the sound and where it overlaps synthwave explain the terms, Synthpop and synthwave: where the 1980s sound meets the revival covers the sung side, and 25 essential synthwave artists, and where to start with each places him among peers. The Dreams station (88.1 FM) is the closest on the radio, and the Night Drive station (92.0 FM) suits a steadier drive. To follow the tag through the catalogue, browse dreamwave releases.
Records to start with
- Timecop1983 · 2015 · TimeSlaves · LPThe 2015 album, and the clearest statement of his romantic style.
- Timecop1983 · 2023 · TimeSlaves · LPHis most recent album in the archive, 2023.
- W O L F C L U B · 2025 · NewRetroWave · LPThe best tag and label match among the newer names.
Sources
- What Does the Future Hold for Timecop1983? · Vehlinggo, 1 Jul 2015
- Catching Up With Mitch Murder, King of the 80s Revival · Vehlinggo, 26 Jul 2015
- The Midnight (band) (used as a map to its references) · Wikipedia