Netflix hit 'Stranger Things' brings back the love for synth music!

If you are one of the estimated 82 million to have watched and loved the Netflix original Stranger Things since its release on July 15 youve had to have noticed its soundtrack Music composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein both from Austin Texas who play in a synth quartet called Survive composed the theme and background and their haunting music instantly took us back to the 80s when synth music was all the rageThink bands like Depeche Mode Kraftwerk Eurythmics Duran Duran and the Pet Shop Boys In the mid2000s emerged Synthwave a musical style that was heavily influenced by the 80s with artistes like Kavinsky who gave music for the movie Drive Electric Youth and Power Glove When we started digging we realised that Mumbai itself was home to many artistes embracing the synth and using it to give their music that extra somethingWhat is a synthAll sounds we hear are made up of individual frequencies For example a bass guitar generates a low frequency sound while a bell emits a high frequency sound Sounds can also be created by blending individual frequencies in a specific balance This is the function of a synthesiser The first person to develop one was American engineer Robert Moog whose invention was called the Moog synthesiser in the 60s Musicians began using a synthesiser to create a brand new palate of sounds which led to the dawn of electronic music The synthesiser generates electric signals that are converted to sound are often played with a musical keyboard but they also can be controlled via a variety of other input devices including music sequencers and instrument controllers The end result is a new gamut of sounds that are original to the musician creating themSanaya Ardeshir PicTanya PrasadIf you just play an instrument after a few years you may wonder lsquowhat to do with thisrsquo You have juiced it completely But with the synth there are hundreds of permutations to try You can keep using it for decades and wonrsquot run out of sounds explains 27yearold Sanaya Ardeshir also known as Sandunes A synth player herself Sanayarsquos haunting downtempo electronic music is a good example of what synths can do For example in her song Crystal Pink from her soon to be released album Downstream which releases in two months she uses ethereal sounds to create a landscape that transports you to a dreamy placeI got interested in the synth while studying music in the UK One day I was in the studio that had all the synths and once I tried them my mind just blew It was such a transition Even being a pianist I knew this was the direction I wanted to take because of what all one can do with it says the musician who is planning to buy a new synth to add to her collection The challenge is to create music that sounds fresh and different but also resonates with a large majority of people she smiles Different types of synths mdash like the Moog or the Doepfer for example mdash use different synthesis technology to produce varied soundsAkshay RajpurohitExperimenting is keyAndheribased band Paraphoniksrsquo music makes us feel as if we are in Goa watching the sun go down Thatrsquos the beauty of it says Siddhant Shirodkar 24 everyone interprets it differently Shirodkar and 23yearold Shatrunjai Dewanrsquos studio is full of big machines that glow and blink These blocklike structures full of knobs are what are known as modular analog synths These can be attached to any musical instrument to manipulate the sound according to what you want explains Jai The oneyearold band whose album Yarns will be out in two weeks sees the synth as an enabler in creating music thatrsquos never been heard beforeWhen I first heard ShatrunJai play I was flabbergasted that someone was actually making this type of music When on stage they take along their whole studio set up Their audience they say is aged between 21 and 30 but they say the acceptance of such kind of music has been encouraging Lots of venues want this music And in India itself electronic music has taken off in a big way DJs like Tiesto now play at weddings So it has opened up avenues says Jai adding This is pure and simple electronic music And that worksHimanshu Pandey 39 who plays regularly around Mumbai at clubs like the Den AntiSocial and Bonobo is currently building his own synth PicPrabhanjan DhanuIf you are one of the estimated 82 million to have watched and loved the Netflix original Stranger Things since its release on July 15 youve had to have noticed its soundtrack Music composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein both from Austin Texas who play in a synth quartet called Survive composed the theme and background and their haunting music instantly took us back to the 80s when synth music was all the rage Think bands like Depeche Mode Kraftwerk Eurythmics Duran Duran and the Pet Shop Boys In the mid2000s emerged Synthwave a musical style that was heavily influenced by the 80s with artistes like Kavinsky who gave music for the movie Drive Electric Youth and Power Glove When we started digging we realised that Mumbai itself was home to many artistes embracing the synth and using it to give their music that extra somethingWhat is a synthAll sounds we hear are made up of individual frequencies For example a bass guitar generates a low frequency sound while a bell emits a high frequency sound Sounds can also be created by blending individual frequencies in a specific balance This is the function of a synthesiser The first person to develop one was American engineer Robert Moog whose invention was called the Moog synthesiser in the 60s Musicians began using a synthesiser to create a brand new palate of sounds which led to the dawn of electronic music The synthesiser generates electric signals that are converted to sound are often played with a musical keyboard but they also can be controlled via a variety of other input devices including music sequencers and instrument controllers The end result is a new gamut of sounds that are original to the musician creating themSiddhant Shirodkar and Shatrunjai Dewan form Paraphoniks whose album Yarns will be out in two weeks When on stage they take their whole studio setup along PicSuresh KarkeraldquoIf you just play an instrument after a few years you may wonder lsquowhat to do with thisrsquo You have juiced it completely But with the synth there are hundreds of permutations to try You can keep using it for decades and wonrsquot run out of soundsrdquo explains 27yearold Sanaya Ardeshir also known as Sandunes A synth player herself Sanayarsquos haunting downtempo electronic music is a good example of what synths can do For example in her song Crystal Pink from her soon to be released album Downstream which releases in two months she uses ethereal sounds to create a landscape that transports you to a dreamy place ldquoI got interested in the synth while studying music in the UK One day I was in the studio that had all the synths and once I tried them my mind just blew It was such a transition Even being a pianist I knew this was the direction I wanted to take because of what all one can do with itrdquo says the musician who is planning to buy a new synth to add to her collection ldquoThe challenge is to create music that sounds fresh and different but also resonates with a large majority of peoplerdquo she smiles Different types of synths mdash like the Moog or the Doepfer for example mdash use different synthesis technology to produce varied soundsExperimenting is key Andheribased band Paraphoniksrsquo music makes us feel as if we are in Goa watching the sun go down ldquoThatrsquos the beauty of itrdquo says Siddhant Shirodkar 24 ldquoeveryone interprets it differentlyrdquo Shirodkar and 23yearold Shatrunjai Dewanrsquos studio is full of big machines that glow and blink These blocklike structures full of knobs are what are known as modular analog synths ldquoThese can be attached to any musical instrument to manipulate the sound according to what you wantrdquo explains Jai The oneyearold band whose album Yarns will be out in two weeks sees the synth as an enabler in creating music thatrsquos never been heard before ldquoWhen I first heard ShatrunJai play I was flabbergasted that someone was actually making this type of musicrdquo When on stage they take along their whole studio set up Their audience they say is aged between 21 and 30 but they say the acceptance of such kind of music has been encouraging ldquoLots of venues want this music And in India itself electronic music has taken off in a big way DJs like Tiesto now play at weddings So it has opened up avenuesrdquo says Jai adding ldquoThis is pure and simple electronic music And that worksrdquoPop culture mattersldquoElectronic music is not possible without synthesisers so theyrsquove always been around and probably will be The synthwave has been on for quite sometime but people have just taken notice because of movies like Tron and shows like Stranger Things It makes a lot of trendy kids jump on the bandwagon but popularity could be a doubleedged swordrdquo feels musician Akshay Rajpurohit 29 who used to be a part of metal band Scribe and then went on to have his own outfit Aqua Dominatrix As you watch Rajpurohit turn knobs on his synths in his video for his song Tribunal Giulietta which will have you dancing with its spaceagey sounds you sort of start getting what a synth does ldquoBack in 2006 when I was experimenting with sounds for Scribe I really felt therersquos only so much you could do with guitars and wanted to open my palette to new sounds I started experimenting with synths then making ambient music and adding sonic textures to our album Confect I started digging what I could accomplish with them and started working on synth driven music while also using them to add layers to the Pangea albumrdquo he says and then adds ldquoAs time flew by I fell deeper into the rabbit hole and started writing music that I really loved with just synthesisers mdash synthpoptechno which in turn helped me put Aqua Dominatrix into context around 2011rdquo Rajpurohit is not just intent on making music for the hipster though You will find covers of popular Bollywood songs on his YouTube done in synth Think Woh Kali Kali Ankhein from Darr For musician Himanshu Pandey a synth addict he has more than 30 of them and has spent his life savings on them the synth could change the way music is played and perceived ldquoA few years ago dub step was a big hit but people got ear fatigue soon So the sound has moved to a minimal sound And thatrsquos where this kind of music comes inrdquo says the 39yearold who is currently building his own synth ldquoBut the music that one plays using these synths should not just be intellectual experiments that only you end up likingrdquo says the DJ who plays regularly around Mumbai at clubs like the Den AntiSocial and Bonobo ldquoThey should be relatable yet fresh and thats how this music will catch onrdquo For now the synth is getting ready for its big moment And thanks to shows like Stranger Things it canrsquot be far away The good thing as Rajpurohit points out is the urge to listen to varied music is growing ldquoIf Bollywood accepts it then it could have a marketrdquo he laughs ldquoBut right now people like a lot of different music and I guess the synthwave can sit somewhere in the middlerdquo Electronic music is not possible without synthesisers so theyrsquove always been around and probably will be The synthwave has been on for quite sometime but people have just taken notice because of movies like Tron and shows like Stranger Things It makes a lot of trendy kids jump on the bandwagon but popularity could be a doubleedged sword feels musician Akshay Rajpurohit 29 who used to be a part of metal band Scribe and then went on to have his own outfit Aqua Dominatrix As you watch Rajpurohit turn knobs on his synths in his video for his song Tribunal Giulietta which will have you dancing with its spaceagey sounds you sort of start getting what a synth doesBack in 2006 when I was experimenting with sounds for Scribe I really felt therersquos only so much you could do with guitars and wanted to open my palette to new sounds I started experimenting with synths then making ambient music and adding sonic textures to our album Confect I started digging what I could accomplish with them and started working on synth driven music while also using them to add layers to the Pangea album he says and then adds As time flew by I fell deeper into the rabbit hole and started writing music that I really loved with just synthesisers mdash synthpoptechno which in turn helped me put Aqua Dominatrix into context around 2011 Rajpurohit is not just intent on making music for the hipster though You will find covers of popular Bollywood songs on his YouTube done in synth Think Woh Kali Kali Ankhein from DarrFor musician Himanshu Pandey a synth addict he has more than 30 of them and has spent his life savings on them the synth could change the way music is played and perceived A few years ago dub step was a big hit but people got ear fatigue soon So the sound has moved to a minimal sound And thatrsquos where this kind of music comes in says the 39yearold who is currently building his own synth But the music that one plays using these synths should not just be intellectual experiments that only you end up liking says the DJ who plays regularly around Mumbai at clubs like the Den AntiSocial and Bonobo They should be relatable yet fresh and thats how this music will catch on For now the synth is getting ready for its big moment And thanks to shows like Stranger Things it canrsquot be far away The good thing as Rajpurohit points out is the urge to listen to varied music is growingIf Bollywood accepts it then it could have a market he laughs But right now people like a lot of different music and I guess the synthwave can sit somewhere in the middle