Record labels have a unique view of the retrowave landscape, and we set out to learn more about their story, niche, releases, and perspective on the scene. Many people running labels are musicians themselves or have been in the music business in one form or another for many years, sometimes decades.
It is with much gratitude we bring readers of the electroscape the Record Label Series. Each label gave precious time to share their story and perspective with us. Many of the people running labels are working day jobs and operating the label during evenings and on weekends. We are incredibly grateful for the time they gave to us so we can share their story with our readers.
Read our entire Record Label Series here.
We connected with several labels to launch our series. We asked all labels to tell us their story, view of how the retrowave scene has changed, and what they expect or hope the future of the scene to look like. We asked the labels what advice they have for artists who might want to land on a label, how they discover artists, and factors at play when deciding to bring an artist on board. Their responses were fascinating, intriguing, and entertaining.
This story features Steel City Collective.
It all started at a synthwave and video game event on February 27, 2018 in Sheffield. Jonny and Bones – the Steel City duo – decided to join forces to put on live events under the moniker “Steel City Synthwave.” Jonny said, “It was about having a bit of fun and enjoying the music.” The idea for the label came over beers later in Liverpool after seeing Aeronexus playing live, an event so inspiring the duo began to discuss the idea of signing the artist to promote his music.
To get the label off the ground, the duo started working with Aeronexus and leaned on some of Jonny’s contacts from curating “SYNTHAID” charity albums as “SYNTHAGEDDON.” The duo approached select artists with big potential and a great work ethic. Jonny said they were able to find “some quite underappreciated but very talented people. Some said no, but a few said yes, and then we were underway.”
Steel City Collective is open to pushing boundaries and expanding their offerings beyond synthwave, which is why they changed the name to “Steel City Collective”. Bones said, “We felt like having “synthwave” in our name would end up being a bit restrictive further down the line, and we really wanted to allow ourselves a blank canvas to be able to move in new and exciting directions.” Bones went on to say it’s more fun to “make up the rules as you go along instead of conforming with what everyone else is doing.”
The Past and Future of Retrowave
“Things have changed pretty radically,” Bones said of the retrowave scene. Bones told us division between the pop and dark side of the scene has grown and most artists “fall on one side of the pendulum.” Bones said, “The best thing is that the scene is still evolving pretty relentlessly, with artists pushing the boundaries rather than choosing to sit in the middle of what would have been considered traditional outrun style music,” even though the outrun vibe is still foundational to synthwave.
Jonny told us it is almost impossible to keep up with all the synthwave being released, and it’s even harder now for artists to stand out. The upside is there’s a good chance you’ll “stumble across quality releases that you may have missed when you hear something on a channel or radio station.” Jonny also told us the live scene is gathering a lot of momentum, and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, curators in the UK were starting to put on bigger and more regular events.
The future of the scene is hard to predict. Jonny’s perspective is “synthwave music is now pushing genre boundaries, and I think that the scene will very much stay alive and also keep reinventing itself. It’ll also hopefully pull in more fans from further afield. I also sense that the scene is going to become more cooperative, with more curators working together for the good of the genre and the scene itself. If we want to keep pushing things forward we are stronger together.”
Bones added, “The great thing about this genre is there’s such a broad spectrum of influences from the 80s, 90s and present day all melding together. There are still boundless opportunities for things to change and go in new directions, and the 90s side of synthwave is something that’s going to be more and more relevant with more electronic dance music influences coming in.”
As often happens in music, “When people can’t find a way forward they always find inspiration from going back to the roots.” French Touch and French House scenes might start creeping in, which Bones said would “be really exciting for me as that’s the stuff that got me into synthwave in the first place.” Read Bandcamp’s beginner guide to French Touch here.
A Closer Look at Steel City Releases
Steel City Collective’s catalogue pushes and expands all boundaries of retrowave. It includes releases on the heavier, darker cyberpunk side of synth, such as Masked, Contre-Attaque, Deathwire, Snthstr, and Neon Proxy. It includes a fresh dose of pure 80s retrowave pop, such as Brandon. And it includes cinematic, orchestral releases from artists such as Aeronexus and Venator.
Power of the Purple Flame by Venator
It is not an overstatement to proclaim Power of the Purple Flame by Venator a modern masterpiece. It might be described as a brilliant and intricately crafted blend of synthwave, breakbeat, and dark synth through which Venator narrates his story, but such a categorization would not do the album justice. Jonny said Venator “is such an underrated artist, but when you delve into his releases they are pure unadulterated escapism. He has a very eclectic narrative style that’s extremely immersive. He’s built up a whole universe around a character called Victor Moore, a cybernetic vigilante with supernatural powers.”
Bones said, “Power of the Purple Flame has a bit of everything, from dark synthwave bangers, to rocking anthems, to soft heartfelt orchestral tapestries. There aren’t many albums out there that deliver such a comprehensive spectrum of soundscapes that can take the listener on a real journey!” Power of the Purple Flame closes with a 20 minute song called “Memento Mori” that plays like Pink Floyd took an electronic detour.
New Vessel by Aeronexus
New Vessel by Aeronexus feels big. One can easily find themselves drifting through space or watching an orchestra from the balcony of a theatre, such as on “Dying Nebula” featuring Starforce, or escaping the troubles life can sometimes bring on an afternoon highway drive on “A Love Lost in Space” featuring Millennium Falck. New Vessel brings together collaborators from across the synthwave spectrum, including cinematic, ambient, orchestral, spacewave, darksynth, cyberpunk, and more, often in one place such as “Planet Eater” featuring Masked.
Retrochrome II by Brandon
If you are looking for a heavy dose of nostalgia, Retrochrome II by Brandon is for you. It is at its heart pure 80s pop, retrowave yours truly. It features pop-based synth lines, dance beats, passion, and dazzling synth solos. Retrochrome II brings a hint of funky disco, too, such as on “Lightning” featuring SJBRAVO. The album is overflowing with melodies built for 80s night life.
The Excitement and the Grind
The real joy of running a label is interacting with people, building relationships with artists, and sharing in their success, Jonny told us. Bones echoed these sentiments, telling us, “We’ve always tried to be very hands on and form genuine friendships with our artists. It gives us a real family feel and that’s what makes it all worthwhile.” Bones also told us he never envisions a day where relationships are not the foundation to the label, no matter how much they grow.
Carving out time to run a label is a constant challenge. “Running a label on top of your day job is very difficult,” Jonny said. The Steel City duo is juggling day jobs, the label, and their private lives. Bones said, “Because this is our hobby you want to make the time to work on things as much as you can.”
The industry is a fast mover, too. Jonny said the “sheer scale of things you have to do and learn about in the music industry is staggering,” and new things seem to pop up every week that require the duo sit down and make a plan for.
The interpersonal nature of running a label brings a unique set of challenges as well. Jonny said, “The artists are also real people with real lives and real problems. Sometimes they need you to put your arm around them and encourage them in times of need, and other times you have to have a difficult conversation with them about a release, or the direction they’re going in as an artist. It can be difficult, but when we started this thing, we made a promise that we’d always be honest and uncompromising with our artists and ourselves. That honesty has helped to push things forward in terms of the quality of what we all do.”
Breaking Into the Scene
We asked Steel City Collective what role labels play in shaping the scene. Bones said, “We’re not too fussed about purposefully shaping the scene, but we want to lead by example in the way that we operate, and also be very welcoming to everyone that crosses our path, whether that’s people we work with, or people we meet out at live events or online. It’s always been important to support the scene and we have never been ones for rivalries or petty competition.”
Jonny agreed, saying “The best thing about this scene is how inclusive it is.” He told us it’s a very normal thing to mosey up to a stranger at the bar and ask them who their favorite synthwave artist is because we all have the same reference point. These types of interactions power the scene forward “so we’d very much love to give people more opportunities to make those meaningful real life connections and get out from behind the computer screen!”
We asked the Steel City duo what advice they would give aspiring artists. Jonny said, “Work extremely hard on your craft. It’s so important to learn about the music industry and learn the skills you’ll need to be self-sufficient.” Jonny emphasized artists need to develop their craft, business acumen, and promotional skills, all of which are essential for success.
Another piece of valuable advice Jonny offered was “seek out and take on board constructive criticism. Find someone neutral who you can trust to be completely honest with you about your music and your brand, otherwise you’ll always just get positive feedback and think that you’re better than you really are. The only way to get better is keep challenging yourself and keep pushing your own boundaries. Never stand still and think you’ve made it, because when you do, it’s over.”
A unique sound matters, too, Bones told us. “Synthwave is awash with many copycat releases and more pure generic sounds that many experienced synthwave fans now find boring or monotonous. Try to bring something fresh, draw upon all of your own unique influences and don’t be afraid to be original.” Bones added, “Original is memorable.”
Music doesn’t have to be business, though. Bones said “This can also be a hobby. If you just enjoy making music and aren’t too bothered about adulation then don’t try to chase it. Just spend time doing something you love and don’t take it too seriously. It’s very common that you’ll find that magic you’ve been looking for when you just relax and have fun with it.”
New synthwave artists seem to pop up every day, and so there are many ways to discover them. Bones said, “A lot of artists sort of come to us serendipitously. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time and then go with your gut reaction. Bones went on to say sometimes contacts refer artists to them and other times people reach out to them directly. “Once you’ve put yourself on this pedestal you get people appreciating what you do and wanting to come and work with you, which is a great feeling.”
Steel City Collective reaches out to artists they love directly, too. Jonny said, “We listen to a lot of music on various platforms, and we regularly scour social media for exciting new music. Live gigs are also a great place to discover people. There are more and more synthwave gigs happening now so some lesser known artists are getting the chance to showcase themselves. When we saw Aeronexus play live back in 2018, we simply had to sign him, even though we hadn’t even started a label. Sometimes seeing an artist live helps you to really understand the potential of their music that you don’t always feel on studio releases.”
When deciding to bring an artist on board, Steel City Collective seeks a good fit between artist and label. Jonny said, “It has to feel right and you have to absolutely love their music. We won’t ever sign an artist that we wouldn’t want to listen to their music on our heavy rotation. When we get that real feeling of excitement about a particular musician, then we’ll reach out to them to see if they’re interested. Or if they come to us and the music just blows us away then sometimes we act upon it.”
Bones added, “We never sign an artist without chatting with them properly and getting to know them,” and these days, technology makes it possible to connect with artists around the world. “We have to be totally sure that the person behind the music is someone that we’ll be able to get on with and we can welcome into our family. We also want to know how ambitious they are and what their future plans are.”
Bones also said, “We want to work with musicians who are able to do it all. We want to know they have the ability and drive to learn all the facets of the industry so they can sustain themselves.” Playing live is really important to Steel City Collective. Bones said, if artists “haven’t done that before then we’ll be expecting them to make plans to start playing live.”
Jonny added, “It’s a bit of everything that’s required. Great music, cool person, hard-working, able to take on board constructive criticism, ambitious, and willing to play live. We try to really invest as much as we can in developing each of our artists, and with all the right ingredients from both sides it usually ends up being a very beautiful and rewarding relationship.”
Looking Ahead
Steel City Collective is cultivating an exciting future. Jonny told us they are planning some events for next year. Their artists are developing their craft as well, and the Steel City duo expects very big strides in the coming years from a few of them. Bones added merchandise is going to become a bigger focus and the label has some exciting plans in the pipeline for fans to look forward to.
Steel City Collective has also planned a retrowave event for next year in partnership with Space Jams, headlined by Nina and Wolf Club. Tickets are available here. Keep your eyes peeled for more live events to be announced.