A Cyberpunk Film In Sound: LukHash’s Transient Offworld

LukHash has risen within the synthwave ranks for his unique combination of dark synthwave and 8-bit chiptune and with his newest album, Transient Offworld, creates an iconic retrofuturist cyberpunk story with nothing but synthesizers and some original vocals.

References to 80s cyberpunk thrillers are clear with neon future cities and references to cyberpunk terminology. It’s not surprising, as the genre takes heavily from the 80s, but LukHash takes the influence to another level, creating a film score for a vividly clear movie that doesn’t exist. Songs like “We Rule This World” feature heavier, unrelenting synthesizers that paint an image of post-apocalyptic neon takeover before the listener has the chance to read the song title. “You and I” also sounds exactly how it should, a retrofuturist science fiction love story where one has to go offworld, similar to the stunning album art which itself adds another layer of dimension to the story. “One Last Dance” repeats this part of the storyline, with the same original vocals coming in to accentuate it.

“Paradigm Shift” sounds like exactly that, with the futuristic 8-bit synthesizers bubbling to create the auditory image of a great change in technological advancement or post-disaster government. Even without an explicit theme, songs like “Naomi” fit perfectly into the descending story-through-score of our hypothetical sci-fi masterpiece. The seemingly tragic end of “System Shutdown” is the perfect closer with the sounds of battles and machines fading out into calm. Stream the album below.