You know Starfarer’s music. You’ve experienced Synth Valley Production Stream Fests. You’ve listened to Synth & Brews Podcast. Meet the man behind the curtain – Miguel – a father, husband, snythwave producer, metal musician, podcast host, production company head, synthwave community builder, and grower of the scene.
The Early Years: From Ricky Martin to Pantera
Miguel hails from the great state of California, originally from Monterey Bay and child of parents who seemed to always have the tunes playing, mostly Mexican music but also a bit of classic rock n’ roll, such as Clearance Clearwater Revival. In his youth, soccer was his first love. You could find him on the field, hyped for a game, or following the World Cup. If you know Miguel today, you might be surprised to learn he was once hooked on the 1998 World Cup theme song, “Cup of Life” by Ricky Martin. His parents even bought him the CD and, as it often goes, after a few listens the album grew on him. Before long, he was blasting the album and singing along in the shower.
Then everything changed. The metal gods shone down on Miguel and, out went Ricky Martin and in came metal greats, such as Metallica, Megadeth, and Pantera. Music became Miguel’s outlet. He took an interest in guitar and his parents set him up with a guitar, amplifier, and, before long, he was in a punk-rock-surf band called The Deaf Jackets, who even played a few shows. He found his footing in a metalcore band, Miseria, who played bunches of shows and released a couple albums for which Miguel did most of the writing. Eventually, Miguel head up the road from Monterey Bay to San Jose to be closer to his girlfriend. It was a smart move. She’s now his wife.
Birth of Starfarer
Starfarer is a staple in the music libraries of synthwave fans, a project born from a chance encounter on Reddit. Miguel became involved in a game called Game of Bands. In this game, three people produce a song together – one person writes the lyrics, one sings, and one writes the music. For each round, the group is assigned a different theme. On one round, the group was asked to produce an electronic song for which Miguel wrote the music. This is when he began to think about writing more electronic music.
A short while later, Miguel was digging around Reddit and stumbled across retro-related art. He loved the aesthetic, colors and, to his surprise, there was music that went along with it – synthwave. He began to explore the classics, such as Kavinsky, Lazerhawk, and Waveshaper. And then it happened. Game of Bands chose an 80s theme for the round, and Miguel gave sythnwave a try. The very first song he wrote was called “Assimilator” which appeared on Starfarer’s self-titled debut.
The Starfarer project is space themed – the music, the persona, and the art. When Miguel began to brainstorm project names, he wanted to capture traveling to the stars. He ultimately settled on Starfarer after briefly considering others, including Chromacruiser. Miguel brings the Starfarer concept to life when he wears a space helmet during live performances and on sci-fi album covers which usually feature an astronaut and spaceship. Miguel often does the art for singles and EPs himself and hires an illustrator for LPs. Starfarer creates a coherent space atmosphere in his music which elicits that surreal sense of a voyage through space with stars and planets outside your spaceship window. Occasionally, there’s an alien encounter on your journey which Starfarer captures with the darker tracks.
The newest Starfarer project is the March, 2021 release, Multiverse, an exciting collection of 18 remixes of Starfarer songs by 18 different artists, including Vector Seven, Elevate the Sky, Watch Out For Snakes, Michael Weber, LordNikon, Magnavolt, Stilz, and other artists. Starfarer fans can look forward to a darker, mid-tempo album, which Miguel plans to begin writing in the near future.
Road to Synth Valley
Miguel heads Synth Valley Productions which has made a splash in the synthwave scene, hosting several live streaming events. Synth Valley grew from a series of events, going back to the beginning of the Starfarer project and the first synthwave show Miguel attended. When Miguel launched the Starfarer project, he was unsure if playing live was in his future. He had some doubts if people “would want to watch some dude with a space helmet fiddle on a keyboard.” After attending his first synthwave show in San Francisco featuring FM84 and The Midnight, his perspective changed. The crowd was energized, and he knew playing live was going to be a big part of his future in the scene.
Playing live is a big effort. Miguel practiced for a solid six months before pairing up with Maniac2084 to book his first show. Shortly after, Psyk up Interstate 5 in in Portland, OR invited Starfarer to perform at the first SynthcityPDX. Miguel drove up the coast for an amazing show with a good group of folks. He said, “It was definitely one of my favorite shows!” Feeling inspired, Miguel headed back to California and started booking show after show, first in his hometown, then in San Jose, then in Santa Cruz. Miguel felt the need for something official, and Synth Valley Productions was born.
Miguel discovered the San Jose area is a bit of hub for synth-based artists, and he began to bring people together to coalesce around the music, live performances, and build and grow the scene. Miguel does it all at Synth Valley – the graphics, booking, design, marketing, and more. He’s leading the effort to build a community around synthwave and has made connections and friends along the way.
One of the first Synth Valley Productions projects was Compilation Vol 1, which established the brand in the scene. The compilation consists of tracks from various artists, including Votaic Spore, Macready, Dead Mall, Vector Hold, Maniac2084, and others. I find the compilation to be a potent collection of synth-based songs with a dark edge.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in live synthwave events was growing. As worldwide restrictions on large gatherings took hold to mitigate spread of the disease, the live music scene went quiet. Synth Valley Productions Stream Fests have been a bright spot during a dark time in human history, bringing synthwave acts right to your living room. These streaming events have, no question, increased the reach of the scene and built new energy around it. The Fests bring together various artists from around the world to play a set, and fans hear their favorite artists and discover new ones. Synth Valley has lined up stellar acts, including Starfarer, Alpha Chrome Yayo, Dana Jean Phoenix, Masked, Street Cleaner, Elay Arson, and many other artists.
Fog of Marina
It’s not all synthwave for Miguel. His metal roots are still close to the surface. After several years of writing Starfarer songs had passed, he wrote a post-metal song called “Toxic Sleep” and wanted to write an entire album in the style. When 2020 rolled around, he took to it. The project is called Fog of Marina. The self-titled debut is about a deadly fog that wipes out a military base which was inspired by Miguel’s time living in Marina, CA where he attended California State University at Monterey Bay. The university was built on an old military base named Fort Ord. He said the campus was a “bit spooky” because it was populated with abandoned barracks and buildings and heavy fog often rolls in. Miguel wrote and recorded everything for the album, except the drums, which came from MIDI packs. The album is dark, ominous, and powerful.
Synth & Brews Podcast
One of my favorite pass times is sipping brews and listening to synthwave. So, I wanted to know what inspired Miguel to launch the Synth & Brews Podcast and, more importantly, what brews he reaches for first. He likes the dark beers, such as stouts, but lately has been into smoothie beers. Miguel said, “It’s like having a Jamba Juice smoothie but it’s a beer!” Early on in the project, Miguel reviewed a beer and talked about synthwave artists, but it quickly evolved into interviews with artists, which was a bit of an escape from the lonely isolation pandemic-related restrictions placed on social gatherings. It became a platform for connecting with old friends and making new ones. The podcast has already featured a stellar line up, including Michael Weber, Glitbiter, Vampire Step-Dad, Watch Out For Snakes, Oceanside85, Robots With Rayguns, and other artists. In the future, expect to hear from more artists, promotors, and graphic artists on the podcast.
Future of Synth
As part of the electroscape’s Faces of Synth series, I want to gather and share the perspective of the featured guest on the future of the synthwave scene. As this story shows, Miguel has many roles in moving the scene forward. He expects synthwave to evolve into a more modern sound. He mentioned, even now, artists are incorporating elements of electronic dance music and other genres into their tracks. Expect synthwave artists to experiment more and push the boundaries of the genre in new directions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the live streaming scene has gained traction. Streaming events pull people from all corners of the world into the scene and bring artitss into the living rooms of fans. Miguel expects the live synthwave scene to grow post-pandemic. He said he would like to see more local collectives and production companies take hold, such as Synth Valley Productions in San Jose, CA, SynthcityPDX in Portland, OR, and Terminus Retrowave in Atlanta, GA. He hopes to see more synthwave festivals, which he thinks could be “huge in the future!”
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