I have long been intrigued by the interpersonal dynamic known as synchronicity. When the electroscape joined Twitter, I noticed a handle displaying a creative retro twist on it called “synthronicity.” I had to follow.
Synthronicity – whose name is Ashley – is founder and editor of web-based synthwave mecca Forged in Neon. If you’ve been around the synthwave block, you’ve spent time at Forged in Neon. If you’re new to the scene, you’ll stumble upon it sooner than later.
Born for Synth
Ashley hails from Dublin, Ireland where, by day, she works in the hospitality business and, by night, she works under the glow of neon lights at Forged in Neon headquarters. Her synth roots go back to the colorful decade of the 80’s she grew up in. When she was child, she received a keyboard for Christmas and spent her time learning to replicate intros to those classic 80’s television shows from which so much synth-based music finds inspiration, such as Miami Vice and Knight Rider. Electronic and synth-based music has been in her heart ever since.
Ashley still recalls when the sleek cars and cyan colored landscapes of the 80’s took a back seat to grunge, which was much more grim than the electronic music of the 80’s. She found herself gravitating to the music of hard rock and metal legends, such as Judas Priest, Metallica, Motley Crue, and Iron Maiden.
And then it happened. In the late 2000’s, Ashley was with some friends who were playing the game Hotline Miami. While her friends were interested in the game play, she found herself using Shazam to identify the tracks in the game. Ashley said, “I found a whole community of people like me who loved these sounds of the 80’s and I fell hook, line and sinker. A whole new world opened up to me that I could not seem to get enough of, and I’ve been down that neon rabbit hole ever since!” Ashley has an eclectic palette and digs the sound of electronic artists such as MOTHXR, Nightclub, and Too Many Zooz. Listen to her favorite track by MOTHXR – “Easy” – below.
Essence of Synthwave: Forged in Neon
Forged in Neon is your home for everything synth. You’ll find interviews with artists, reviews of synthwave, dark synth, and synthpop albums, playlists, merchandise, and more. At first glimpse, Forged in Neon looks like a well-oiled machine that has been churning out content for years. To my surprise, the site was only recently launched in May 2020. The spark to make Forged in Neon a reality stemmed from a friendship Ashley struck up with Mark Batchelor – also known as the artist Spectral Knight – who helped her formulate her vision for site design.
Forged in Neon builds a bridge between artists and fans. It is a resource for fans to learn about the artists they love and discover new artists and, at the same time, it is a place for artists to increase their fan base and share their story. Despite its youth, it has already grown immensely. Ashley said, “I never in a million years realized how quick it would grow, how revered it has become in the scene and the doors it has opened for me. It has grown exponentially to such a degree that I have been interviewed by 3D World Magazine, appeared on radio shows and podcasts and recently won an award via an incredible radio show in London called “Forever Synth” where they gave me an Ambassador award for service to the scene. Truly was blown away by that.”
The future of Forged in Neon is bright. Ashley plans to develop a new merchandise line and a monthly podcast series. The live synthwave scene was gaining ground pre-pandemic, and when live gigs pick up, Ashley will be there doing interviews and adding gig reviews and photos to Forged in Neon. Ashley said, “I already have two events I’m involved with next year in Bristol in the UK via another incredible podcast “Space Jams” in conjunction with Steel City Collective with acts to include Deadlife, Dan Terminus, Nina, and Wolfclub.”
The synthwave scene moves fast and keeping up to bring content to fans and stay relevant in the scene isn’t easy. Ashley churns out content week after week. I asked Ashley what motivates her to do the work she does, and she said Forged in Neon is a labor of love and appreciation from the artists for her effort is gratifying and motivating. She feels that extra sense of appreciation when people pass along gifts, such as t-shirts, hats, posters, and codes for albums.
Forged in Neon is populated with artist interviews. I asked Ashley who is one artist she really enjoyed interviewing. She said, “Wow that’s certainly putting me on the spot!” Purely as a fan, she mentioned Sunglasses Kid and Duett were a thrill. She went on to say she learned something new each time she revisited recent interviews with Glitterwolf, Vandal Moon, Ogre, Phaserland, Alpha Chrome Yayo, Cat Temper, Honey Beard, and, of course, Swayze, of whom she said has a sense of humor that “slays me, love that guy.”
So, who is on the interview bucket list? Ashley said she would like to interview FM Attack, Gunship, and The Midnight. She also said, “The pinnacle would be to interview the man who doesn’t exist” and added, “Those who know synth will know who I’m talking about!”
Ashley isn’t only the editor of Forged in Neon, she is also A&R for London-based TW1 Records. Her role is to foster talent acquisition and help grow the label, which already has an impressive collection of artists, including XYLE, Neon Arcadia, Palm Lakes, XENNON, Spectral Knight, The Motion Epic, and, the first 2021 addition, Megatronix. 2021 promises to be a big year for TW1, with new signings, partnerships, releases, physical media, and more.
Synthwave 101 Syllabus: History, Future, & Listening Assignment
Ashley has listened to an incredible amount of synthwave, so I wanted to learn a bit about her “go to” albums. Ashley mentioned some seminal releases, such as Altas by FM84 and Gunship’s debut. She noted 2020 was momentous for synthwave, mentioning the genre busting release The Beginning by Swayze, synthwave gems such as Music by Bishop and Synthian by Nina, and dark synth juggernaut City of Eternal Rain by Deadlife. 2020 was also a year of energetic collaborations. Ashley mentioned Sophmore by Sunglasses Kid, featuring collaborations with Primo the Alien, Jay Diggs, and many more.
With her vast background in synthwave, I was curious what artists Ashley might recommend to newcomers, her synthwave 101 syllabus so to speak. Ashley mentioned the fundamentals, including Gunship, Kavinsky, The Midnight, and FM84 and suggested digging into origins, such as Mega Drive, 80’s Stallone, Valerie Collective, College, and Miami Nights 1984. With this listening list, newcomers are certain to find a portal into synthwave.
Ashley has watched the synthwave scene grow and evolve for over a decade, and I wanted to hear her thoughts on the past and future of the scene. She said the sound of early synthwave had an undoubtedly 80’s influence. Now, however, the scene has evolved into many subgenres. At heart, synthwave is a niche genre. There has been some movement into the mainstream, to be sure, and there are is a bit of divide within the scene on whether the scene should push on the boundaries of the mainstream or remain in the underground. Ashley said, “Honestly, I see the merits in it as with anything that becomes too commercial it ends up eating itself. Grunge is a perfect example of that.”
Ashley described the synthwave scene as a “self-sustaining musical eco-system” where artists and fans are mutually supportive. One thing is for certain, the hard work and talent is off the charts. Ashley aptly said, “It always grinds my gears when I hear the likes of Neon Arcadia, Honey Beard, Ollie Wride, Michael Oakley, Gryff, Nina, and Bunny X, for example, churn out some incredible music more worthy of commercial success than anyone else I’ve heard but don’t seem to achieve the loftier heights of success due to the obvious restraints of capital or some other erroneous issue.”
The future of synthwave is a story yet to be written. Ashley said a good place to learn more about the past and thoughts on the future of synthwave is The Rise of the Synths. In poetic fashion, Ashley said, “Synthwave will always have a future as long as there’s a past.”