￥The Unfinished and Luftrum have teamed to provide the Sound of Summer with their brand new collaboration, Synthwave Diva. Like the perfect, golden child, born from a union between Jan Hammer and John Carpenter, Synthwave is one of the hottest electronic genres of the moment.

 

Artists such as Mitch Murder, Kavinsky and Powerglove have raised its profile, with guys like TimeCop1983 and FM-84 (who have provided demo tracks for Diva Synthwave) continue to keep it fresh and alluring. Synthwave’s influence can even be heard in the cinematic work of M83, Cliff Martinez and Trent Reznor.

 

Synthwave Diva provides 128 patches for U-He’s Diva, glistening with 80s nostalgia and dripping with analogue warmth. Chunky bass, smooth pads, flickering keys and lush leads, with that unmistakable synth cool. Matt and Soren have taken their love for the genre and given it their very own contemporary twist, providing all the sun-kissed retro joy necessary, but with an added touch of their own inimitable imaginations.

 

If your head is full of thoughts of Amigas, betamaxes and white men doing kung fu; the music of Vangelis and Tangerine Dream; films such as Breakfast Club and Beverly Hills Cop; and if you’re writing synth pop, outrun music, or just want a hint of that retro, analogue magic in your music, then Synthwave Diva is for you.

 

So, take a sip of your tequila sunrise, roll up your pink jacket sleeves, push the latest tunes into your eight track and drive that Testarossa deep into the heat of the night.

 

July 2020: Synthwave Diva is updated to be NKS compatible, relevant for users of Komplete Kontrol hardware by Native Instruments. The update contains NKS presets and audio previews. The NKS presets are sorted in a Synthwave Diva subbank, separating them from the Diva factory presets. There’s a PDF guide included describing how to install the set and where to place the NKS presets.