[Column] Chillwave / Synthwave Re-evaluation - The encounter between 80s sound and Internet culture

Column en 00s 10s Chillwave Synthwave

07 Dec 2025

[Column] Chillwave / Synthwave Re-evaluation - The encounter between 80s sound and Internet culture

Reconnecting 80s sounds and internet culture

Text: mmr｜Theme: Based on Washed Out, FM-84, Com Truise, etc., about the birth of Chillwave/Synthwave and its relationship with aesthetics, artwork, and internet culture.

Chillwave and Synthwave, which rapidly spread from the late 2000s to the 2010s, are genres inspired by 1980s electronic music, synthesizers, VHS culture, and retro game aesthetics. However, there is a clear divergence between the two, with two different axes: ““the sound of vague memories” and ““80s revival cinematic sound.”

1. What is Chillwave?

1-1. Birth (around 2009)

Chillwave is generally established around 2009. The name became popular when the music media ““Hipster Runoff” used the word ““chillwave” in the same year, and it spread as a joke on the Internet.

The characteristics are as follows.

Lo-fi recording
Soft texture centered on synth + sampler
Vocal melts into reverb
Influenced by 80’s city pop and dream pop
Visuals such as pale colors and blurry photos

Representative artists:

Washed Out (Ernest Greene)
Their 2009 EP “Life of Leisure” is considered a masterpiece of the genre.
Neon Indian (Alan Palomo)
2009’s ““Psychic Chasms’’ is a symbolic work of the scene.
Toro y Moi (Chaz Bear)
Recognized as a major Chillwave act in 2010 with “Causes of This”.

Chillwave is somewhere between indie rock and electronica, coinciding with the expansion of bedroom recording environments.

2. What is Synthwave?

2-1. Formation (mid 2000s to early 2010s)

Synthwave’s origins are earlier than Chillwave, and can be traced back to French electronic music (particularly Kavinsky and College) in the mid-2000s. College & Electric Youth’s ““A Real Hero”, which was used in the early film ““Drive” (2011), became the catalyst for its mainstream spread.

Features:

Music that directly reproduces 1980s movies, science fiction, and synth pop
Focused on analog synths (Juno-106, DX7, Prophet, etc.)
4/4 driving beat (Synthwave)
Slow Ambient (Dreamwave/Retrowave)
Neon, grid, pink x blue 80s visuals

Main artists:

FM-84 (Col Bennett)
In 2016, he became a representative of the scene with “Atlas”.
Mitch Murder
Specializes in 80s game music and VHS style sounds.
The Midnight
Established pop-oriented vocal synthwave.
Kavinsky
“Nightcall” (2010) is said to be a symbolic song.

Synthwave grew as a large independent genre on the internet throughout the 2010s.

3. Difference between the two

Element	Chillwave	Synthwave
Main periods	2009-2013	2005-present
Aesthetics	Blurry memories, summer, nostalgia	Neon, futuristic cities, 80s movies
Sound	Lo-fi/dream pop-oriented	Analog synth-centered, sharp sound
Representative	Washed Out, Neon Indian	FM-84, Mitch Murder, The Midnight
Cultural background	Indie and blog culture	Movies, games, and synth pop revival

Although they look similar at first glance, Chillwave has a different direction, ““the ambiguity of memories”, and Synthwave has an ““ideal image of 80s movies”.

4. Internet culture and aesthetics

4-1. Chillwave and blogging culture

Chillwave was mainly spread through MySpace, Bandcamp, and blogs, and had a strong affinity with the internet’s unique low-resolution aesthetic.

Distinctive elements:

Tropical pattern artwork
Hazy film photography
Slow motion footage of abandoned schools, beaches, forests, etc.
90’s VHS texture

4-2. Synthwave and retro SF aesthetics

Synthwave works closely with graphic designers and video creators. Artwork elements:

neon sign
“Outrun color scheme” of pink and blue
wireframe horizon
Sports car, sunset
VHS noise, CRT wind distortion

These are directly connected to the design styles of 1980s science fiction movies, games, and anime.

5. Equipment/sound creation

The equipment used in Chillwave and Synthwave is also very different.

Frequently used in Chillwave

Soft synths (especially plug-ins from the late 2000s)
Sampler (Akai MPC, SP series)
Cassette recording, lo-fi processing
Electric guitar + effects

Frequently used in Synthwave

Analog/analog modeling synth -Roland Juno-106
Yamaha DX7
Sequential Prophet series -Korg Polysix
Drum Machine
LinnDrum / LM-1 -Roland TR-707, TR-808
80s style gated reverb snare

The sound itself is close to “reconstruction of 80s movies”.

6. Chronology Chillwave / Synthwave Chronology

flowchart TB A2005["2005: Kavinsky and College establish a style that would become Synthwave"] --> A2009 A2009["2009: Washed Out"s ""Life of Leisure" and Neon Indian"s ""Psychic Chasms" are recognized as Chillwave's representative works."] --> A2010 A2010["2010: Kavinsky"s ""Nightcall" and Toro y Moi"s ""Causes of This" were released, increasing the popularity of both genres."] --> A2011 A2011["2011: The movie 'Drive' soundtrack influenced the global spread of Synthwave"] --> A2013 A2013["2013: The end of the chillwave boom begins to be talked about in the music media"] --> A2016 A2016["2016: FM-84"s Atlas and The Midnight"s activities further expand the popularity of Synthwave"] --> A2020 A2020["2020s: Synthwave will continue to be adopted in games and video works and become an established genre."]

7. Illustration: Difference between Chillwave and Synthwave

8. Major works

8-1. Chillwave masterpiece

Washed Out – Life of Leisure (2009)
Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms (2009) *Toro y Moi – Causes of This (2010)

8-2. Synthwave masterpieces

Kavinsky – Nightcall (2010)
College & Electric Youth – A Real Hero (2011)
FM-84 – Atlas (2016)
The Midnight – Endless Summer (2016)

9. Detailed analysis of video and design aspects

9-1. Influence of 80s movies

Synthwave was heavily influenced by the electronic music and visuals seen in the following films:

“Blade Runner” (1982)
“Tron” (1982)
“Miami Vice” (TV, 1984–1989)
1980s arcade game aesthetic

9-2. Context of digital revival

Chillwave made extensive use of visual expressions reminiscent of the personal media culture of the 1990s (VHS, camcorders, seaside home footage), and was compatible with the internet’s lo-fi photo culture (such as early Instagram).

Synthwave’s grid background + neon typography created by graphic designers has become standardized worldwide, and has also become popular in mix videos on YouTube.

10. Present and future of both genres

Synthwave is still in high demand as a soundtrack for games and dramas, and is often used in VR and indie games. Chillwave, on the other hand, is increasingly being talked about as an “indie era” of the 2010s, but has been inherited in the context of dream pop and bedroom pop.

Conclusion

Chillwave and Synthwave both have their origins in the ““80s reappraisal,’’ but each moved in a different direction of nostalgia. The former is a soundscape of vague memories, and the latter is a reconstruction of the cinematic 80s world. Behind this is the evolution of Internet culture, synthesizer technology, the DIY spirit, and the evolution of video and design.