Welcome to Mona Lisa Overpod, the show that asks the question "What is cyberpunk?" On each episode, hosts Ka1iban and author Lyda Morehouse dive into the genre that helped define sci-fi fiction in the '80s and break down the themes which remain relevant to our lives in the 21st century. Pull on your mirrorshades, jack into the matrix, and start your run with us today!

Cyberpunk, culturally, is as much about style as it is about theme, and every good scene needs a soundtrack. But what exactly constitutes cyberpunk music? What BPM correctly communicates "down with the corpos"? Can you make cyberpunk music with analog instruments? And how does Michael Sembello fit into all of this?
 
In this episode, we discuss the evolution of electronic music and the "cyberpunk sound", its roots in the punk movement and early electronica, the balance between composition and theme, the importance of "feel", defining an art form through constraints, and we ask whether or not "cyberpunk music" is a living genre. We also talk about dead Aibos, Dexy's = not cyberpunk, tapepunk, the trans history of synthesized music, Krautrock, how Blade Runner DIDN'T influence cyberpunk music, cyber-meetings with Timothy Leary, the Suck Fairy, synthwave and the Desert of the Real, the non-cyberpunk Matrik soundtrack, and how cyberpunk music looks back to look forward.

"If you have exceptions, you do have a rule." - Lyda Morehouse

The new edition of Lyda's book, Ressurection Code, is out now!
https://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/books-by-lyda-morehouse/resurrection-code/

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