Spacesynth
Disco · 1983 · 120 to 135 BPM · also known as Space Disco, Space Rock, Cosmo Rock
Spacesynth is the instrumental, cosmic branch of italo disco, built on space imagery and science fiction album covers. Melodies play like film themes, with laser sounds and cascading arpeggios standing in for a singer, who is almost entirely absent. Laserdance and Koto set the genre's grammar in the mid-1980s, giving it a repertoire of heroic instrumental themes and arpeggiated basslines. A loyal scene of fans has kept spacesynth alive ever since, still trading records and playing that mid-1980s sound today.
16 reference tracks
- Zanov: Moebius 256 (1977)
- Space: Magic Fly (1977)
- Electronic System: Cosmos Trip (1977)
- Koto: Visitors (1985)
- Laserdance: Humanoid Invasion (1986)
- Koto: Jabdah (1986)
- Laserdance: Goody's Return (1987)
- Proxyon: Space Hopper (1988)
- Hypnosis: Pulstar (1983)
- Cyber People: Void Vision (1985)
- Laserdance: Power Run
- Sally Shapiro: Time to Let Go
- Space: Symphony
- Laserdance: Endless Dream
- Laserdance: Space Dance
- Proxyon: Space Travellers
At a glance
- Tempo: 120 to 135 BPM
- First appeared: 1983
- Machines: Roland JX-8P, Yamaha DX7, Roland TR-707
- The sound: Arpégiateurs, Effets laser et bruitages spatiaux
- Labels: ZYX Records, Hotsound, Analog Language, Spacesynth.net, Beat Box, Rams Horn Records
- Key artists: Laserdance, Koto, Proxyon, Rygar, Cyber People
Producing Spacesynth
Rule of thumb: 126 BPM, fully quantized, no swing, with a constant sixteenth-note pulse running through the bass arpeggios. Build the drums around a Roland TR-707: dry digital kick, short cracking snare doubled by a clap on beats two and four, closed hats in sixteenths opening on the offbeats, and Simmons-style tom fills descending every eight bars, with a short gated reverb for that 1986 sheen. The bass is a relentless sixteenth-note octave arpeggio, a sawtooth with a little square wave and a 500Hz filter, built with Ableton's Arpeggiator, always locking with the kick on beat one. Layer a JX-8P or virtual Juno for the heroic lead theme, a DX7 emulation for snappy FM basses and bells, and laser sweeps, a sine or saw pitched down 36 semitones with delay trailing behind.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Spacesynth?
Spacesynth is the instrumental, cosmic branch of italo disco, built on space imagery and science fiction album covers. Melodies play like film themes, with laser sounds and cascading arpeggios standing in for a singer, who is almost entirely absent. Laserdance and Koto set the genre's grammar in…
What tempo is Spacesynth played at?
Between 120 and 135 BPM.
Who are the key Spacesynth artists?
Laserdance, Koto, Proxyon, Rygar, Cyber People.
