In the vast landscape of electronic music’s golden era of the early to mid-2010s, a chance YouTube autoplay would lead musician David Andrew Wiebe down an unexpected path. As one electronic mix faded into another, the dark, atmospheric sounds of synthwave emerged from his speakers, planting the seeds for what would become “City Lights” – his sophisticated venture into the neon-tinged world of retrofuturistic music.
The Birth of a Nighttime Journey
Released in 2016, “City Lights” stands as a unique entry in Wiebe’s catalog – his only synthwave track to date, yet one that would prove to be among his most successful releases, accumulating over 2,000 plays across various platforms. The track emerged during a particularly ambitious period when Wiebe was releasing a new single every month, each exploring different stylistic territories.
“The musical style is effectively a reprisal/modernization of typically dark and atmospheric 80s film scores,” Wiebe explains, describing the synthwave genre. Drawing inspiration from nighttime driving, he crafted “City Lights” in a minor key, capturing the mysterious allure of urban landscapes after dark.
Crafting the Sound
The creation of “City Lights” began with a methodical approach using Power Tab Editor, where Wiebe began layering several simple parts together: a repeating figure, a melody, and a bass line. “I didn’t have much of an expectation that this would work,” he admits, “because too many parts playing simultaneously can sound busy, depending on the parts. But somehow, it worked.”
The production setup, while modest, proved more than capable of delivering the authentic 80s sound Wiebe was after:
- Free VST plugins providing classic synth sounds
- MT Power Drumkit 2 for semi-realistic percussion
- A red Ernie Ball Music Man Axis electric guitar (nicknamed “Hailey”) for the solo
- Zoom G3X amp simulator
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface
The vintage synth emulations added both authenticity and challenge to the production process. “Perhaps because they were truthful emulations of early synths, they sometimes misbehaved like real synths too,” Wiebe notes, recalling how he had to adjust sample rates during the final export to achieve the desired sound.
Anatomy of a Night Drive
“City Lights” unfolds like a carefully orchestrated journey through an illuminated cityscape. Wiebe’s approach to composition follows a principle of constant evolution: “Something new needs to happen in a track every eight bars or so,” he explains.
The track’s structure reveals this methodical development:
- A fade-in introduction where synth layers gradually accumulate:
- First synth establishes a repeating riff
- Second synth adds a complementary figure
- Bass synth joins to complete the texture
- Drums enter to create a dynamic fullness
- A verse figure with all instruments engaged
- The apex: an 80s hair metal-style guitar solo
- A tension-building section with repeating synth figures
- Return to the main melody with subtle variations
- A bridge section that breaks down and rebuilds
- A final return to the layered synth parts, fading into the night
Impact and Legacy
While “City Lights” remains Wiebe’s sole venture into pure synthwave, its influence echoed through his later work, particularly in a track called “Waves,” which he describes as “jazzwave” – a unique fusion inspired by Amy Winehouse that merges jazz sensibilities with synthwave aesthetics, creating something that “would fit nicely within the context of a video game, especially Sonic the Hedgehog.”
The track’s success highlighted the challenges and rewards of instrumental music composition. “Instrumental music is perhaps one of the toughest forms of music to write well,” Wiebe reflects. “It works well as background music but is easily ignored in favor of music with vocals. But I feel I was successful in composing a song that is quite engaging from start to finish.”
A Gateway to Future Possibilities
“City Lights” represents more than just a successful experiment in genre-crossing. It stands as a testament to Wiebe’s versatility as a composer and producer, demonstrating his ability to authentically capture the essence of a specific musical era while adding his own contemporary touch.
The track’s success and enduring appeal raise an intriguing possibility that Wiebe himself acknowledges: “Maybe a full album worth of synthwave music is in order?” For fans of both his work and the genre, such a prospect is an exciting one to contemplate.
In the meantime, “City Lights” continues to shine as a pristine example of modern synthwave’s potential – a piece that honors the atmospheric scores of the 1980s while carving out its own space in the contemporary electronic music landscape. It serves as a reminder that sometimes the most interesting artistic destinations are reached by following unexpected paths, even if they’re initially illuminated only by the soft glow of a YouTube autoplay suggestion.