For most people, Tesla’s Cybertruck was an oddity, something that grew on them. Not me, from the moment I saw it I liked it. The morning after the unveiling, as I watched a video of this behemoth rolling onstage, I laughed manically. There’s a very good chance I’ll be buying one in the next few years. It looks like something from a 1980s sci-fi movie or the Warthog from Halo. To prepare for this mix of futuristic nostalgia, I’ve made a playlist of 88 synthwave songs.
Sythnwave is great for a world adapting to the emergence of telework. Working from home can be tough on the mind. That’s why this genre of music is outstanding for focusing. It makes work feel like playing a video game. Sythnwave has many names or related styles — outrun, retro wave, electronic. It’s basically the sound of a video game or 1980s movie. Yet, it’s modern. That’s what so fascinating about Synthwave. It’s new and yet so familiar.
Perhaps one day I’ll be cruising down the highway in my stainless steel, dual-motor, American made, bullet-proof, battle truck. But like any good movie or video game, the Cybertruck needs a sound track. For the past several months, I’ve been writing down my favorites Synthwave tunes. As an homage to the DeLorean (also a stainless steel vehicle) and Back to The Future (a quintessential 1980s movie), the playlist is 88 songs long.
The Photics Cybertruck Synthwave Playlist
- Aereos – Foxborough Arcade
- Amethyst Shade – Distant World
- Amethyst Shade – Dusk on Unknown Planet
- Atmolifter – SOLARIS
- Big Game Hunter – Brambles
- Cassetter – Catch Me If You Can
- Cassetter – Chased by the Hammerhead Robot
- Cassetter – Drive Through the Night
- Cassetter – Retro Thug
- Cassetter – Unknown Places (Cassetter Remix)
- Cosmic Sand – 09H00
- Danger Mode – Hologram
- Danger Mode – Twilight Turbo Drive
- DELOS – Trace Decay
- Division – Escape from Orion (feat. Sonic Synergist)
- Division – Lost in Time
- Division – The New Wave
- Droid Bishop – Color & Data
- Droid Bishop – Days of the Running Man
- Emil Rottmayer – Descend
- Emil Rottmayer – MEGA
- Emil Rottmayer – T.I.M.E (Part 2)
- Epoch – Formula
- Epoch – Heat
- Flash Arnold – Shadow Runner
- FM-84 – Los Angeles
- FM-84 – Nightdrive
- FM-84 – Outatime
- Fourge – Accelerator (feat. Nightlite)
- Fourge – Velvet 2600
- Francci – Senses
- George Ergemlidze – Strangers
- Jeremiah Kane – 2500 Racing
- Jeremiah Kane – The Future Past
- Jordan F – Our Destiny, Above Us
- Lost Years – Converter
- Lost Years – Pump
- Lost Years – Red Horizon
- Lost Years – West Side Lane
- Lux Ultra – Stellar One
- Marvel83′ – 2049
- Marvel83′ – Genesis
- Marvel83′ – In Between
- Marvel83′ – Roller Coaster
- Miami Beach Force – Empty Streets
- Miami Beach Force – Forever
- Miami Beach Force – Time Flies
- Miami Beach Force – Uncertain Future
- Mythical Vigilante – In Too Deep (Cover Blown)
- Neon Nox – The Last Man on Earth
- Neon Summers – Detective Summers
- Neon Summers – Off The Grid
- Night Rider 87 – Arcade Nights
- Night Rider 87 – Future Driven
- Night Rider 87 – Galactic Realms
- Night Rider 87 – Scanline Memories
- Night Rider 87 – Star Conquest
- Overvad – Silver Stallion
- P.N.D.A – Daydream Highway
- Polypumpkins – Moonlit Highway
- Retouch – Earthquake
- Retouch – Light Years
- Sagittarius V – Lucidator
- Sequenza – Drifting
- Signal Void – Dusk
- SPACEINVADER – Turismo
- Sung – Arena
- Sung – Future
- Sung – Killometer
- Sung – Neon Artery (Remaster)
- Sung – Overizer (Remaster)
- Sung – Paris Gotham
- Sung – Reload
- Sung – Thunder Love (2017 Version)
- Timecop1983 – On The Run
- Tonebox – Mechanism Pilot (Feat. Lucy In Disguise)
- Tonebox – Space Disco
- Tonebox – Frozen Code
- Turbo Knight – Miami Synth Riot 1982
- Turbo Knight – Midnight rain
- Turbo Knight & Vosto – Flickering
- Tonebox – Shock
- Unitra – Blast Processing
- Shinkansen – Unitra
- Wice – Star Fighter
- Wolf and Raven – The Heist
- ZAYAZ – Afterburner
- Zombie Hyperdrive – Skylight
There were a few requirements in selecting these songs.
- No lyrics or voiceovers
- No excessive guitar solos
- No really short songs (not less than 3 minutes)
- Available on iTunes & SoundCloud
- It should sound like the 80s, but not too like 80s
The end result is a collection of songs that is 6 hours and 31 minutes long. The total was $88.62. The high expense made me wonder if a subscription to Apple Music was worth it. But based on my previous play history, with most songs having hundreds of plays each, I figured that it was better for me to buy copies the songs outright. The Cybertruck is a vehicle for the apocalypse. And if that happens in my lifetime, Internet connectivity could be spotty.
Apple Music Playlist
If you don’t feel like making your own playlist on Apple Music, someone on Reddit created the “CyberSynth” playlist. It mentions “The Photics Cybertruck Synthwave Playlist” in the description, so that’s cool.
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/cybersynth/pl.u-GN7gF8rqxjg
Spotify Links
• Aereos — Foxborough Arcade
• Amethyst Shade — Distant World
• Amethyst Shade — Dusk on Unknown Planet
• Atmolifter — Solaris
• Big Game Hunter — Brambles
• Cassetter — Catch Me If You Can
• Cassetter — Chased By The Hammerhead Robot
• Cassetter — Drive Through the Night
• Cassetter — Retro Thug
• Cassetter (Bunny X) – Unknown Places [Instrumental]
• Cosmic Sand — 09h00
• Danger Mode — Hologram
• Danger Mode — Twilight Turbo Drive
• Delos — Trace Decay
• Division — The New Wave
• Division — Lost in Time
• Division — Escape from Orion (feat. Sonic Synergist)
• Division – Lost in Time
• Division – The New Wave
• Droid Bishop – Color & Data
• Droid Bishop – Days of the Running Man
• Emil Rottmayer – Descend
• Emil Rottmayer – MEGA
• Emil Rottmayer – T.I.M.E (Part 2)
• Epoch – Formula
• Epoch – Heat
• Flash Arnold – Shadow Runner
• FM-84 — Los Angeles
• FM-84 — Outatime
• FM-84 — Nightdrive
• Fourge – Accelerator (feat. Nightlite)
• Fourge – Velvet 2600
• Francci – Senses
• George Ergemlidze – Strangers
• Jeremiah Kane – 2500 Racing
• Jeremiah Kane – The Future Past
• Jordan F – Our Destiny, Above Us
• Lost Years — Converter
• Lost Years — Pump
• Lost Years — Red Horizon
• Lost Years — West Side Lane
• Lux Ultra – Stellar One
• Marvel83′ – 2049
• Marvel83′ – Genesis
• Marvel83′ – In Between
• Marvel83′ – Roller Coaster
• Miami Beach Force – Empty Streets
• Miami Beach Force – Forever
• Miami Beach Force – Time Flies
• Miami Beach Force – Uncertain Future
• Mythical Vigilante – In Too Deep (Cover Blown)
• Neon Nox – The Last Man on Earth
• Neon Summers – Detective Summers
• Neon Summers – Off The Grid
• Night Rider 87 – Arcade Nights
• Night Rider 87 – Future Driven
• Night Rider 87 – Galactic Realms
• Night Rider 87 – Scanline Memories
• Night Rider 87 – Star Conquest
• Overvad – Silver Stallion
• P.N.D.A – Daydream Highway
• Polypumpkins – Moonlit Highway
• Retouch – Earthquake
• Retouch – Light Years
• Sagittarius V – Lucidator
• Sequenza – Drifting
• Signal Void – Dusk
• SPACEINVADER – Turismo
• Sung – Arena
• Sung – Future
• Sung – Killometer
• Sung – Neon Artery (Remaster)
• Sung – Overizer (Remaster)
• Sung – Paris Gotham
• Sung – Reload
• Sung – Thunder Love (2017 Version)
• Timecop1983 – On The Run
• Tonebox – Mechanism Pilot (Feat. Lucy In Disguise)
• Tonebox – Space Disco
• Tonebox – Frozen Code
• Turbo Knight – Miami Synth Riot 1982
• Turbo Knight – Midnight rain
• Turbo Knight & Vosto – Flickering
• Tonebox – Shock
• Unitra – Blast Processing
• Unitra — Shinkansen
• Wice – Star Fighter
• Wolf and Raven – The Heist
• ZAYAZ – Afterburner
• Zombie Hyperdrive – Skylight
Surprisingly, all of the songs were on Spotify. At least, it seems that the songs are there. I don’t actually have a Spotify account.
Want More Synthwave?
If you want to hear even more Synthwave, but you don’t know where to look, ThePrimeThanatos channel on YouTube has great mixes and a livestream. That’s where I learned about this style of music. Well, it was probably Knight Rider in the 1980s and the Kung Fury movie, but what I didn’t know was that there was so much more Synthwave out there. That’s when I went on a hunt to find the best of the best. The end result sounds amazing — WOW!