Waves_Upon_Waves takes us through their musical process, their collaborations, and what they like most about the 1980s.
‘Dangerous‘ feels like a full-on immersion into another world – lush, cinematic, and hypnotic. What first drew you into this retro-futurist space, and what does the ‘80s represent for you creatively?
The 80s were such a magical time. No Internet. Dreams were big – so was the hair. Of course, it is possible to overly romanticize any era. But it is without apology that our team hopes to bring back the best elements of the 80s.
The collaboration with Timecop1983 and Pastel Arcade is incredible – three distinct minds capturing a single emotion. How did that creative chemistry come together, and what did each of you bring to the table?
Excluding Daft Punk, the top synthwave/retrowave artists are (1) Kavinsky, (2) The Midnight, (3) Gunship, and (4) Timecop1983, a.k.a Jordy Leenaerts from the Netherlands. He is one of the best producers in the game. His whole catalog is the ultimate experience in dreamy nostalgia. He is a musical genius when it comes to production. I, Waves_On_Waves, from Hollywood (CA) & Paris (FR), wrote the melody and lyrics and recorded the vocals. Pastel Arcade – Brooklyn (NY) – helped with additional mixing and production elements. Jordy is a great guy, and one thing that we appreciate about him is that he used to work for the government in Holland. He is now pursuing music full-time. Pastel Arcade and I used to work for the government in the US and we are now full-time musicians as well.
One thing about the song, ‘Dangerous’, and all of the other songs on the album, ‘Live Wire On The Sunset Strip’, is that I wrote the lyrics and melody while walking up and down The Sunset Strip at night while listening to the music. We recorded all of my parts in a recording studio down the street from The Rainbow Room and Whisky A-Go-Go with a nice view of the Hollywood sign. I immersed myself in Los Angeles to catch the vapors of the 80s scene that we really want to revive.
The ‘Dangerous’ video directed by Stephen Kohl plays like a time capsule from a dream – steeped in the past but deeply human. What was your intention behind weaving together those iconic film moments from the ‘80s?
Music videos are mood-altering drugs that allow a person to feel the emotion they want to feel. Video director, Stephen Kohl, (Nashville, TN) gets that. He is an expert on all things dealing with the 80s. He used his video production skills to make the visuals match up with the vibe of the track. He wanted the video to be like a time machine. A Delorian if you will, using cinematic clips from the 80s to match the emotion of the song. Stephen and I became friends while on a mission trip with West End Community Church in Ireland. We served the homeless and worked with recovering addicts. It is truly a delight to work with friends on creative endeavors and on matters to help further the greater good. I have a ton of appreciation for him.
The past can sometimes feel escapist, but your work feels more like confrontation – a way of reckoning with memory and desire. How do you walk that line between honoring where music came from and keeping it emotionally real for today?
There is a reason why we released a 65-song album titled ‘Songs They Forgot To Write In The 80s: Vol 1.’ Basically, we wanted to pick up where the 80s left off musically. We are using modern technology with 80s sounds, so sonically, things are sounding pretty great when it comes to impact and clarity. We hope that in making this kind of modern 80s music that the listener can feel like they are walking down the Sunset Strip in 1987 dressed like Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue. In 2026, we will be releasing ‘Songs They Forgot To Write In The 80s: Vol 2.’
‘Started Catching Feelings‘ is darker and more immediate – like love’s shadow side. How did the collaboration with Crimewave and Waves On Waves After Dark come about, and what headspace were you in when you wrote it?
I think my voice sounds pretty decent over synthwave/synthpop/retrowave tracks, and the sister to that genre is darkwave/goth/post-punk/EBM. Darkwave/goth music really resonates with my soul because it is an honest reflection of the human condition. We are all a little bit dark with a little bit of beauty mixed in. Les Nuby (Crimewave, Birmingham, AL), Kai Longridge (Waves On Waves After Dark, Hollywood CA), and I wrote ‘Started Catching Feelings’ and all of the other tracks on the ‘Halloween Summer’ album after long nights out in Hollywood during the summer at Bar Sinister. We recorded this track at Nuby’s killer studio in Birmingham, and then Rick Parker, who produced Lord Huron, Jewel, The Dandy Warhols, mixed and mastered the Halloween Summer album in his recording studio in the Hollywood Hills. ‘S’tarted Catching Feelings’ is the second single off this album.
The Griffith Observatory setting in the Kai Longridge–directed video is perfect – cosmic, eerie, and emotional all at once. What story were you hoping to tell visually about the unraveling love at the heart of that song?
Goths try not to have or show emotions, but sometimes do anyway – even if by accident. ‘Started Catching Feelings’ is a song about wanting what you can’t have. The theme og desiring without acquiring is at the heart of this song. Yet, deep down in the depths of the black hearts of virtually all goths is the burning desire for romance that mirrors that of Gomez and Morticia Addams. We are all for goth babes and goth bros falling in love with each other. And we hope to provide the soundtrack to make their love as hot as the black coffee they drink each morning before taking a stroll through the cemetery in the dead of winter.
It was Kai’s idea to shoot the video at the Griffith Observatory. We arrived at the Observatory just after it had closed on an eerie night in late September 2024. Just as we began to film, a security guard confronted us, stating that we were not allowed to film there because the park had closed. He said that in order to film at the historic site, we would need different permits from the city, which cost thousands of dollars. I then told him that I was a prior combat Veteran and that we were shooting scenes for a music video. He said that he was a prior Military as well, and added that while he was officially telling us that we could not film there that he was coincidentally going to make his rounds around the park and that it would take him at least 45 minutes to come back to this spot. That was his way of telling us to go ahead and film the video while he was making his nightly rounds. Someday, we will hopefully give him a VIP pass to our arena tour as we open for Depeche Mode in an ideal world.
Your production choices – the analog synths, the pulsing basslines, the dreamlike textures – all create a sense of being submerged in sound. How do you approach building that immersive world without losing the raw emotion beneath it?
The secret weapon on our creative team is Les Nuby. He was in the band Verbena – a band that was as cool as Sonic Youth. Verbena was signed to Capitol Records. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters produced their albums and took them on tour, and then we snatched him up after Verbena ended. Les is a master of virtually every instrument – drums, bass, guitar, etc. He is a killer producer and audio engineer. While I provide the vocals, the synths, and most of the guitars on our albums, all my contributions are approved or disapproved by my co-producer and band member, Les Nuby. He has an amazing understanding of space and filling the spectrum when recording a track. We try to cover the high, low, and midrange with different instruments and not allow the musical parts to step on one another. The interesting thing about creating a track is that a lot of times, the parts we choose to play are more like math, in that there is one perfect part. Music is less subjective than people might think. Les Nuby seems to always deliver the perfect part on any instrument he plays.
When it comes to singing over complex instruments, I let the melody and words write themselves, and I just try to stay out of the way as the song unfolds.
You’ve had quite a journey – from EDM vocalist to producer to fully realized artist building your own sonic universe. What has that evolution taught you about creative freedom and what it really means to find your voice?
As a vocalist and writer, I have things to say, and I am going to say them – no matter the format. I dig EDM music, and I love working with EDM producer/DJ/artists. I just attended Amsterdam Dance Event in late October 2025 to link up with Alex M.O.R.P.H. (Germany) and thank Armin Van Buuren (Amsterdam) and Armada Records for including our collaboration in heavy rotation on ‘A State Of Trance‘.
I especially like providing vocals over trance and melodic techno tracks. When I tour, I will tour my darkwave/goth/post-punk and synthwave material – and incorporate some of the dark EDM tracks. Yet, whether I am performing in EDM or some other genre, at the root of it, I am a rock guy. I am and will always be a punk. Bands like Pearl Jam, Radiohead, A Perfect Circle, Deftones, Joy Division, Led Zeppelin, and Sound Garden are tattooed on my soul. So, I will always bring rock elements to the table no matter what the genre is. I find myself asking – what would Eddie Vedder sing over this music or how would Trent Reznor approach it from NIN. The genre does not matter to me. What matters to me is whether I can emotionally connect with the music.
Waves_On_Waves channels the spirit of another era, but there’s also this pulse of modern alienation in your songs – the way connection feels both electric and impossible. How do you see that tension playing out across your new work?
I hope the music Industry gets behind bands like ours and like Gunship and starts supporting acts that are making 80s music but with modern technology. I think there is a really growing and underground demand for it. I hope that groups similar to us – like Twin Tribes, Vandal Moon, and Boy Harsher – become as beloved and as well known as The Cure, New Order, or Depeche Mode.
Looking ahead, what’s next for you in this ever-expanding world you’re creating – and what do you hope listeners take away when they drift into the neon dreamscape of Waves_On_Waves?
We are finishing up a 27-darkwave album called ‘Romantic Isolation’. We are currently distributed through AWAL, which is owned by Sony/Kobalt. We are asking AWAL to move us up the ladder to AWAL+ + or even to AWAL Recordings – so we can have more label support. We plan to tour, and tour hard across the globe. Ultimately, we promise to anyone who comes on this musical journey with us that we will pound them with wave after wave of great music.
Find out more about Waves_On_Waves and their music online on their official website, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
