Beyond Synth

Happy Halloween! The Bad Boys are back as Andy joins Miami Nights 1984, Lazerhawk, and System Glow for four hours of spooky tunes and highly questionable conversation. There’s a Toronto meetup to revisit, arcade grievances to settle, and an argument about AI-assisted PC ports before we get to the evening’s main attraction. This time, the boys watched Vibrations (1996), a film about a musician who loses his hands and eventually reinvents himself as the robotic rave sensation Cyberstorm. Along the way: Christina Applegate, cyborg fingers, an enthusiastic explanation of techno, and some truly bewildering shifts in tone. Andy has several concerns about this movie. Miami Nights has several concerns about Andy’s concerns. Everyone would probably benefit from more Cyberstorm. There’s also some unfinished Turbulence 3 business, including an email from a man who says he was originally cast as Slade Craven! Then it’s time for Halloween Topic Roulette, covering horror movies and practical effects, pizza toppings, AI brain rot, personal projects, elaborate toilets, and the deeply troubling existence of mac-and-cheese-flavoured soda. All this, plus 18 tracks to accompany your Halloween activities. Godspeed, Spider-Man. If you like what you’re hearing you can support Beyond Synth on Patreon: www.patreon.com/beyondsynth or PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/beyondsynth Today’s Playlist: Jessy Mach - “The Verdict” https://soundcloud.com/jessy-mach https://future80s.bandcamp.com/album/rainbow-active DRUMxWAVE - “SEVERED” https://drumxwave.bandcamp.com/ https://soundcloud.com/drumxwave Hills and Valleys - “Sinister” https://soundcloud.com/hillsandvalleys https://hillsandvalleys.bandcamp.com/ Astral Tales - “Supernova Rider” https://soundcloud.com/ernesto_pow http://astraltales.bandcamp.com Collins - “Bodies (1988)” https://soundcloud.com/gary_collins https://garycollins.bandcamp.com Miami Nights 1984 - “Server Ghosts (feat. Lazerhawk)” https://soundcloud.com/miami-nights-1984 https://miaminights1984.bandcamp.com/album/lords-of-netscape Lazerhawk: https://soundcloud.com/lazerhawk http://lazerhawk.bandcamp.com/ Cursedcable - “The Devil’s Son” https://soundcloud.com/cursedcable https://cursedcable.bandcamp.com/track/forbidden-lands Hideotronic - “Cordyceps” https://soundcloud.com/hideotronic http://hideotronic.bandcamp.com David Hale & YATTE - “Bury It” https://www.instagram.com/davidhalemusic/ https://www.youtube.com/@officialdavidhale Yatte: https://yatte.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/album/6AgDGqWzXoe76npACD9lHQ Alex Lightspeed - “The Corrupt” https://alexlightspeed.bandcamp.com/releases https://www.youtube.com/lightspeedfieros Matrix Thousand - “House of Thrills” https://matrixthousand.bandcamp.com/album/deep-cuts Power Rob - “The Edge of Death” https://soundcloud.com/powerrob https://powerrob.bandcamp.com/ Skylane Drive - “Digital Hex” https://soundcloud.com/skylanedrive https://skylanedrive.bandcamp.com/ Frédéric Scarfone - “Piranesi Panopticon” https://fredericscarfone.bandcamp.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@fredbaroque/ DAV - “Sonnance” https://davsynth.bandcamp.com/album/logic-machine https://open.spotify.com/artist/6hGwiWUQIzI2TLVgraJWsU Gregorio Franco - “STALKER 2025” https://soundcloud.com/gregoriofranco https://gregoriofranco.bandcamp.com/ DROIDGLOW - “Legacy of Terror” https://open.spotify.com/artist/038vqkYcaGc58ZUONuqkzk https://lazerdiscs.bandcamp.com/ COVENOUT - “Hunter-Warrior” https://soundcloud.com/covenout https://synthwave-radio.bandcamp.com/album/protagonist

Today on the best synth wave chat show there is Andy catches up with Eddie a.k.a. DEADLIFE! Eddie talks about making music for 30 hours straight, concept albums, and his harrowing medical journey. The grown men then discuss their evolving video game interests as they’ve gotten older, and for some reason, they talk about cars for a long time even though neither of them are “car guys.” Eddie shouts out the visual artists he’s worked with over the years like ATOMCYBER, FØGRA, Ariel Zucker-Brull, Duchess of Deco, Billelis, and Tony SKEOR, as he’s tried to keep the visual style of DEADLIFE fresh. Besides Cyberpunk and Baldur’s Gate, it turns out Eddie’s latest video game recommendation is IRON NEST and Andy is still deep into the N64 Recomps. So tune in to listen to a bunch of nonsense and discover the secrets of the Domesday Book! If you like what you’re hearing you can support Beyond Synth on Patreon: www.patreon.com/beyondsynth or PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/beyondsynth Check Out DEADLIFE here: https://soundcloud.com/deadlifecorps https://deadlife.bandcamp.com/releases https://open.spotify.com/artist/6YAOorJSNGWyH8m9N7cDeX https://www.instagram.com/deadlife https://www.facebook.com/deadlifecorps Today’s Playlist: DEADLIFE - “Ardent Surge” DEADLIFE - “We Detach” DEADLIFE - “To Be Low” DEADLIFE - “Domesday Engine” DEADLIFE - “Bureau of the Structural Labyrinth” DEADLIFE - “The Curse of Pattern Recognition" DEADLIFE - “New World Birth” DEADLIFE - “Modern Gestalt”

After many years Parallels, Dana Jean Phoenix and Mecha Maiko return for LADIES NIGHT 2 and we have a lot to catch up on! Dana Jean talks about losing her voice, moving to Wales, and writing music for theatre. Holly has been getting into video and TV production, starting a new solo music project and finishing up the documentary on her dad’s band The Stampeders. Hayley just released an album, started a label with Le Matos, and began live-streaming on twitch! So tune in and find out what these awesome ladies have been up to and what’s coming next! If you like what you’re hearing you can support Beyond Synth on Patreon: www.patreon.com/beyondsynth or PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/beyondsynth Check Out PARALLELS here: https://soundcloud.com/parallels https://open.spotify.com/artist/3eXBEeqm9v4aEheDYs1goi https://www.instagram.com/iloveparallels/ https://www.youtube.com/parallelsfm https://www.facebook.com/Parallels/ Check Out DANA JEAN PHOENIX here: https://soundcloud.com/dana-jean-phoenix https://danajeanphoenix.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/danajeanphoenix/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0XXvmAHHzCFNx5p2-HaqGA https://www.facebook.com/danajeanphoenix Check Out MECHA MAIKO here: https://soundcloud.com/mecha-maiko https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/mad-but-soft https://open.spotify.com/artist/53a9zoSEQzvgcmy27AUkMq https://www.instagram.com/mechamaiko/ https://www.facebook.com/mechamaiko/ https://twitter.com/mechamaiko Today’s Playlist: Parallels - Handle With Care (SLACKMACHINE Remix) https://soundcloud.com/slack-machine https://slackmachine.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/0aFvnOYet5WcdanXQXgAW1 https://www.instagram.com/slackmachine/ https://www.facebook.com/slackmachine Andrew Huang - “Interstellar feat. Dana Jean Phoenix” https://andrewhuang.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/andrewismusic/ https://andrewhuang.com/ https://www.facebook.com/andrewismusic https://www.youtube.com/andrewhuang Mecha Maiko - “Crawl” Parallels - “Golden (Factory Sessions)” NeverMann feat. Dana Jean Phoenix - Living Without You https://soundcloud.com/user-728976782 https://nevermann.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/0CKu06OY0F0uQBRTA2lh6b https://www.instagram.com/nevermannofficial/ https://www.facebook.com/nevermannofficial OSC: https://soundcloud.com/opus-science-collective https://opussciencecollective.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/opusscience/ https://www.facebook.com/opusscience Mecha Matos - “Montrose (2025)” https://soundcloud.com/mecha-maiko https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/mad-but-soft https://open.spotify.com/artist/53a9zoSEQzvgcmy27AUkMq https://www.instagram.com/mechamaiko/ https://www.facebook.com/mechamaiko/ Mecha Maiko - “Fool” Parallels - “Ultralight - Ghosthouse Remix” https://soundcloud.com/ghosthousechicago https://ghosthousechicago.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/3mmOTu4bYfBY6YVGZN14OH https://www.facebook.com/GhosthouseChicago/ Mecha Maiko - “Cold featuring Dana Jean Phoenix”

Today on the best synth wave chat show there is Andy catches up with longtime pal and synthwave OG Mike Mendoza—aka Who-ha, Modern Knight, and the man behind Retro Promenade—for a sprawling conversation about creativity, nostalgia, and whether synthwave is dead or merely “no longer culturally ascendant.” They discuss Mike’s return to making music, the satisfaction of learning your tools, AI-generated slop versus genuinely useful AI, and how new technology is helping them resurrect old projects. And it wouldn’t be an episode of Beyond Synth without a bunch of complaining, video game talk, and general off topic silliness. The gentlemen also try and eulogize Tim Curry and Peter Cullen, but then that just becomes Andy talking about King Willy from Predator 2 which has nothing to do with anything. If you like what you’re hearing you can support Beyond Synth on Patreon: www.patreon.com/beyondsynth or PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/beyondsynth Check Out MODERN KNIGHT here: https://soundcloud.com/modernknightly https://modernknight.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/3qbXYP5qPi1Sd0XrP8cnCN https://www.instagram.com/modernknightly/ https://www.youtube.com/user/thetheWhoWhoHaHa Today’s Playlist: Who Ha & STARFORCE - “My Fantasy” https://soundcloud.com/starforce https://starforce.bandcamp.com/ http://aphasiarecords.bandcamp.com/album/omniversal-oscillations Magic Sword - “Side Quest (Droid Bishop Remix)” https://soundcloud.com/magic-sword https://magic-sword.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/6PzFRXjgGHQw6K4WeERMK1 Droid Bishop: http://droidbishop.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/0HPVHsbV2yIYPp2Pk4kdHe https://www.instagram.com/droidbishop/ PULSITHER - “Space Dream” https://neonretrorecords.bandcamp.com/album/space-dream https://open.spotify.com/artist/1TKEbmEiwhqeigZMfqPFcg https://www.instagram.com/neonretrorecords/ DAN TERMINUS - “Live Is To Haunt” https://soundcloud.com/dan-smith-terminus http://dan-terminus.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/danterminusindustries/ Emil Rottmayer - “Departure” https://soundcloud.com/emil-rottmayer https://emilrottmayer.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/2UuvaSzB0VNumArR71ReMT Roger Raw - “Bliss” https://soundcloud.com/rogerraw https://rossocorsarecords.bandcamp.com/album/neon-sunset https://www.instagram.com/rogerraw/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/69c8xGWEjlFr47o2VMtS7N Hideotronic - “People Machine” https://soundcloud.com/hideotronic http://hideotronic.bandcamp.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/2fbKUtuqbMy9695ieFtFcX GEORGE ERGEMLIDZE - “Psycho” https://soundcloud.com/georgeergemlidze https://ergemlidze.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/38LvPFlgQ19IPv07bvI32H jacket. & New Arcades - “Hold You Up” https://soundcloud.com/jacketsynthwave https://jacketsynthwave.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/7dBdh9JWiaj8RanPakxQ6d?si=-3D0w7kTRD6unPoUKhamUg New Arcades: https://soundcloud.com/newarcades https://newarcades.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/newarcades/ Mild Peril - “Pure Reality” https://soundcloud.com/mildperil https://mildperil.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mild.peril/ Young Empress - “Heart Attack” https://soundcloud.com/young-empress-725718952 https://open.spotify.com/album/42fSZHGm9KWBvymIN9ye0M https://www.instagram.com/yngempress/ Caspro & Decisive Koala - “Come Cruise With Us” https://soundcloud.com/caspromusic https://caspromusic.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/2jtjyIKx9XY1wuIc5UKwSp Decisive Koala: https://soundcloud.com/decisivekoala https://decisivekoala.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/4WWpuWvJQum5ylWMjvDPHT Cassetter & CONNÖR - “No Remorse” https://soundcloud.com/cassetter https://cassetter.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/6rzOP8pWzUuXlniCGCtrcE CONNÖR: https://www.instagram.com/connor_retro/ https://connoer.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/6WFKMDluecw7Yy9PS4t0lI

After 12 years, Magic Sword returns for an epic retrospective spanning the project’s origins, evolution, and future. The Keeper reflects on the early energy of synthwave, the realities of turning a creative passion into a career, and the personal struggles that nearly brought Magic Sword to an end. He also discusses the ambitious Omnibus collection, the origins of Badlands, the experimental Side Quest, and the forthcoming record that will conclude the current good-versus-evil saga while opening the door to new creative territory. Andy and Magic Sword wander through touring mishaps, video games, fantasy storytelling, burnout, social media, A.I., and the challenge of staying inspired. Featuring music from across the Magic Sword catalogue. If you like what you’re hearing you can support Beyond Synth on Patreon: www.patreon.com/beyondsynth or PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/beyondsynth Check Out MAGIC SWORD here: https://soundcloud.com/magic-sword https://magic-sword.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/6PzFRXjgGHQw6K4WeERMK1 https://www.instagram.com/magicswordmusic/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/magicswordmusic Today’s Playlist: Magic Sword - “Uprising” Magic Sword - “Lady of Light” Magic Sword - “A New Quest” Magic Sword and Droid Bishop - “Super Nova” Magic Sword and Metavari - “Dressed For Fantasy” Magic Sword - “Precursor” Magic Sword - “Suspendida Drift” Magic Sword - “Zaros Returns” Magic Sword - “Side Quest” Magic Sword - “One More Chance” Droid Bishop - “Through The Fire the Magic Sword Remix” Magic Sword - “Dead Serious MALO Remix”