Keeping 80s Nostalgia Alive With Perfect Female Type – Interview

Listening to Perfect Female Type‘s music feels like taking a wild ride back to the most bodacious decade! He is an artist who keeps 80s nostalgia alive, especially with the latest Synthwave EP, ‘Romancing The Stone / The Jewel Of The Nile.’ Read the full interview here.

1 — What first sparked your love for the sounds and aesthetics of the 80s?

Basically, I was a Stranger Things kid; I was 10 years old in 1983. The music and aesthetics of the late 70s and early 80s played a huge role in programming my emotional and psychological DNA. We didn’t have MTV in my house when I was a kid, but we had HBO and a VCR, and every day at noon they’d play music videos for an hour. I figured out how to program the VCR and I’d run home from school to watch music videos like Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac, Rosanna by Toto, and other iconic songs from the era.

I remember going to see the 1984 action comedy film Beverly Hills Cop when it first came out. The soundtrack is incredible of course, but the instrumental score really blew my mind in ways I’m still trying to piece together all these decades later. I was entirely captivated by Harold Faltermeyer’s incredible music. I could barely pay attention to the movie! I ran out the next day and bought The Axel F Theme with my allowance money. I still have it to this day. Talk about a core memory!

2 — What made your imagination choose titles for songs like “Romancing The Stone” and “The Jewel Of The Nile”?

I was excited to try out a new style of Synthwave with mallet instruments like the marimba, and mixing that with a Latin percussion section. I’ve always loved the glassy textures of those sounds, and they’re fantastic at evoking those southern Miami or California vibes that are so often associated with the Synthwave genre. For whatever reason I made the mental leap to the 1984 adventure movie “Romancing the Stone,” a childhood favorite, probably because those glassy percussive sounds always make me think of jewels. Around the same time, I noticed a Synthwave trend where artists use iconic 80s songs and movie titles, so it felt like a fun way to explore that. The 2nd song title, “The Jewel of the Nile,” is the name of the 1985 sequel to Romancing the Stone.

3 — Your latest two singles reference classic retro movies. Please tell us more about it.

See my answer to the previous question. : – )

4 — Have you ever been proposed to produce the soundtrack for a movie, series, or video game?

Not yet, but honestly, that’s what success looks like for me. I’d much rather work behind the scenes on exciting media projects like the ones you mentioned, much more so than filling stadiums or spinning at large music festivals. My dream job would be to record the original score for the next Stranger Things, whatever that turns out to be.

5 — Why do you think there are still many artists who, through their music, keep that 80s nostalgia alive?

So many things came together to make the 80s such an iconic decade. Everything from fashion to design, from music to architecture, sported a kind of pushy editorial edge. This aesthetic vision shouted: this is the 80s — deal with it! In particular music technology was in a place where the old rules of popular music went right out the window. We saw loads of popular new genres come out of nowhere and dominate the charts, specifically New Wave, Synthpop, and Hip-Hop. Finally, add some truly iconic actors, musicians, and influencers who just happened to be born at the right time, and you have one hell of a cultural mix that continues to reverberate and resonate to this day.

6 — If you could go back and experience one historic 80s concert, which would it be?

Well, that’s an easy one! Prince and the Revolution’s Purple Rain concert. I came THIS close to seeing it, and I regret missing it to this day. Purple Rain is my favorite album of all time, and it would have been such a thrill to see it performed live right after it came out.

7 — What modern or vintage gear do you use in your music studio?

I’m definitely not a hardware guy. I use Logic for everything. I want to call out the amazing French synthesizer archivists UVI.net. Almost every Perfect Female Type song is made with instruments from their massive vintage synth libraries. I’ll also hunt around the internet for vintage drum machine kits or sound effects, or find retro sounds in the many synthesizers and drum machines that come pre-loaded in Logic. Would I produce a record with a studio full of real vintage equipment? Absolutely! I just don’t have the time, energy, or budget right now.

8 — In your career so far, would you say you’ve made more instrumentals or vocal tracks?

I’ve definitely produced more instrumental tracks, but that’s changing fast. Later this summer I’ll be releasing my 7th Perfect Female Type song featuring a lead vocalist. I love collaborating with other artists and producers, and I can’t wait to do that more in the future!

9 — Which of them stands out as your favorite? Why?

I think my strongest Perfect Female Type track so far has to be “Fast Cars Break Hearts,” released in early May. It’s certainly the most mainstream Synthwave track I’ve produced and really popped off with fans and playlist curators. I’m sometimes called out as being “not Synthwave enough,” and I wanted to show that I could do it. I also wanted to recreate the sonic and emotional landscape of those instrumental movie love themes that I loved so much as a kid.

10 — Given your synth background, any interest in pushing your sound in a whole new direction down the line?

Perfect Female Type started out as a Synthwave project, but I’m quickly discovering that it refuses to limit itself to one genre or another. The driving aesthetic is retro Synthpop sugar. Whether that means Synthwave, Vaporwave, Synthpop, or even early 90s club music, it’s going to go where it wants to go. I imagine PFT will ultimately settle down as an EDM project, but I never want to let go of those iconic retro vibes!

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