Welcome to the first in a series of themed weeks on Tuned Up, your internet destination for friendly music content and community. Why start with Synthwave for our first deep dive? Why not another niche with broader appeal?

Allow me to explain.

One of my earliest memories involves going with my parents to a gift shop in the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. This was in the early 90s. One section of the store was chock full of lava lamps, strobe lights, motion machines that you would put on your desk, color balls… you get the picture. Over the years I would guilt my parents into accumulating tchotchkes in my room. I would shut off all the lights and turn these contraptions on and just zone out.

I was born hearing impaired, so its been a long standing hypothesis of mine that these vibey visuals have appeal to me because some part of my brain is more receptive to visual stimuli, by necessity. I’ve also battled lifelong insecurities stemming from folks’ perception of me as a young boy and feeling misunderstood in social situations, so add emotion into the equation. Vibey culture isn’t just about nostalgia to me. It’s also healing.

This all came to a head in 2020. Not only was this year a significant turning point in my perception of my self (and my own faith journey), but it was also lockdown year (as if I needed to remind you). That spring and summer, I went on my first true deep dive of the quintessential synthwave band The Midnight. Their album Kids, and particularly the song “Explorers” served as a bit of a safety net as I watched a key part of my identity unravel in mid March of 2020 (Tuned Up’s Steadfast Fest was on track to take place on March 14th, the day lockdown began; it would have likely been a sellout. A goal I had been working towards for 5 years).

That summer I had been listening to a healthy does of Kids by The Midnight. I also rather stupidly chose that time period to binge watch Netflix’s Black Mirror (if you know, you know). But, right on time The Midnight released Monsters in July of 2020. The album art on that record basically showed what I wanted my bedroom to look like as a kid. It was serendipitous. A visual showing how creativity could add a positive spin to being stuck at home. All was not lost! During one of the lighter episodes of Black Mirror, the 80s themed “San Junipero,” I remember just sitting in the dark thinking about it for awhile its conclusion (as this show has a tendency to provoke). Only tonight, I decided to go sit in my office. I poured myself a glass of cabernet, sat in my desk chair, turned on my over the top Tuned Up synthwave lighting apparatus (see picture below on the right) and listened to The Midnight’s “Deep Blue.” When I get nostalgic for 2020 (which sometimes happens, believe it or not), I often think of this moment, along with my quiet walks around the neighborhood.

So, as you can see, Synthwave and its aesthetic and family of music subgenres aren’t just niches we want to look at for fun (although it is very, very fun). It’s an emotional pulling back of the curtain into the ethos of this page. It’s a lens through which we look at all forms of art – not just this one. Will you join us?