Dreamwave · Genres
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What is dreamwave?

Dreamwave is a sub-genre of synthwave. While both share the typical sounds of 80s synthpop, the difference between them is that synthwave is influenced by video game music and italo disco music, whereas dreamwave is defined by heady dream pop influence.

Artists to start with

  1. PASTEL GHOST
  2. Electric Youth
  3. Timecop1983
  4. Vogel
  5. Tommy
  6. De Lorra
  7. The Bilinda Butchers
  8. The Lightning Kids
  9. The Midnight
  10. Gunship

Albums to hear first

  • The Bones of What You Believe by CHVRCHESThe Bones of What You BelieveCHVRCHES
  • Bright Lights by Ellie GouldingBright LightsEllie Goulding
  • kin by iamamiwhoamikiniamamiwhoami
  • Dark Beach EP by PASTEL GHOSTDark Beach EPPASTEL GHOST
  • Every Open Eye (Special Edition) by CHVRCHESEvery Open Eye (Special Edition)CHVRCHES
  • Los Angeles EP by FM-84Los Angeles EPFM-84
  • Beyond Horizons by Stellar DreamsBeyond HorizonsStellar Dreams
  • Syndicate by The MidnightSyndicateThe Midnight

Dreamwave songs

  1. Butterfly by Grimes
  2. REALiTi by Grimes
  3. The Mother We Share by CHVRCHES
  4. Char by Crystal Castles
  5. Tether by CHVRCHES
  6. Good by Allie X
  7. Never Ending Circles by CHVRCHES
  8. Clearest Blue by CHVRCHES
  9. On My Heart by School of Seven Bells
  10. I Dare You by The xx

Dreamwave on Risocast

  • Abyss by Pastel GhostAbyssPastel Ghost · 2015
  • Ethereality by Pastel GhostEtherealityPastel Ghost · 2018
  • Goodbyes by The Bilinda ButchersGoodbyesThe Bilinda Butchers · 2012
  • When You Sleep by Pastel GhostWhen You SleepPastel Ghost · 2024
  • Heaven by The Bilinda ButchersHeavenThe Bilinda Butchers · 2015
  • Dark Beach by Pastel GhostDark BeachPastel Ghost
  • Char by Crystal CastlesCharCrystal Castles · 2016
  • Iris by Pastel GhostIrisPastel Ghost · 2018
  • Clouds by Pastel GhostCloudsPastel Ghost · 2015
  • Lilacs by Pastel GhostLilacsPastel Ghost · 2015
  • Pulse by Pastel GhostPulsePastel Ghost
  • Skeleton by Pastel GhostSkeletonPastel Ghost

Neighbouring genres

In the dream pop & shoegaze family. All genres

noise popshoegazeslowcoreblackgazedream popdreampunkethereal wave

Questions

What is dreamwave?
Dreamwave is a sub-genre of synthwave. While both share the typical sounds of 80s synthpop, the difference between them is that synthwave is influenced by video game music and italo disco music, whereas dreamwave is defined by heady dream pop influence.
Who are the best-known dreamwave artists?
By Last.fm listening: PASTEL GHOST, Electric Youth, Timecop1983, Vogel, Tommy and De Lorra.
What genres are similar to dreamwave?
On Risocast it sits with noise pop, shoegaze, slowcore, blackgaze, dream pop and dreampunk.

Risocast is free. Install it once and it logs everything you play.

Download for WindowsFree · v4.0.9Open RisocastRight here · Spotify or Last.fm

Updated 6 October 2026

Risocast Help

A music log that fills itself in. It records the songs you play on your computer and your phone, turns them into your top songs, stats and a public profile, and finds people whose taste overlaps with yours.

Yes. The app and the website are free.

A song counts once half of it has played, or four minutes — whichever comes first. Songs of 30 seconds or less, and videos or podcasts over 20 minutes, never count.

On Windows, anything that shows up in Windows' media controls: Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, browsers, foobar2000, Windows Media Player and more (VLC, iTunes and MusicBee through their free media-controls plugin). On Android, any music app — it reads the same now-playing info your lock screen shows. You can also connect Spotify or import from Last.fm.

Yes. Plays are counted on your device and sent when you're back online, and the phone app opens without a connection.

It does the same core job — scrobbling, automatically — without plugins per player, and adds taste matching: see who listens like you and how much your taste overlaps.

Your profile and listening are public so people with similar taste can find you, unless you make your profile private (then only your buddies see it); your email never is. Nothing is sold and there are no ads; anonymous usage analytics (Microsoft Clarity, Google Analytics) show what to improve. See the privacy policy for the details.

More in Help, the guides and the privacy policy.

Welcome to Risocast
Risocast

Your music, logged. Your people, found.

A small player that sits in your tray, writes down every song you play, and shows you who listens like you.

243 songs logged today

Download for WindowsFree · v4.0.9Open RisocastRight here · Spotify or Last.fm

Android is coming to Google Play. Get notified

How logging works

On Windows, Risocast reads the system media controls, so any player counts: Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, browsers, foobar2000. No plugins.

On Android the app reads what any music app is playing (it's coming to Google Play). Anywhere else, connect Spotify or a Last.fm username.

When a song countsAfter half its length, or four minutes, whichever comes first.Tracks under 30 seconds are ignored.Offline plays are counted on the device and sent later.

More on automatic logging · Risocast vs Last.fm

Taste twins

See how much your taste overlaps with anyone's, and find the people who listen most like you. The match comes from what you both actually play, not a list of favourites.

Open People

How the match works

Weekly Disc and Taste Map

Every week becomes a disc of your top songs. Every record you play goes on a map, grouped by genre.

Weekly DiscTaste Map

Real ones, from the maker's own listening.

Download Risocast

Risocast is free for Windows 10 and 11. Android is coming to Google Play; on any other device, use the web app with Spotify or Last.fm.

Download for WindowsFree · v4.0.9Open RisocastRight here · Spotify or Last.fm
  • Version 4.0.9 · Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) · about 100 MB
  • Updates itself: new versions download in the background and install on restart.
  • Every installer is published with its SHA-256 checksum on the releases page.

All platforms and questions

Features
Automatic loggingWeekly DiscTaste MapTaste matchProfiles and statsMusic windowsBPM, key and soundSong stripLikes that syncPlay in your appFindPeople and buddiesCompare tasteAnthemsGenre labelsAndroid appImport and connectWindows 98 look
18 object(s)Open as a list
Guides
Track music on WindowsLog YouTube MusicApple Music statsFind people like youPlayers that workLog VLCLog foobar2000Log MusicBeeiTunes on WindowsLog DeezerLog TidalLog SoundCloudAmazon MusicWindows Media PlayerSpotify historyTop songs of all timeWhat genre is it?Describe your tasteExport your dataComing from Last.fm
20 object(s)Open as a list
Compare
Risocast vs Last.fmLast.fm alternativesRisocast vs stats.fmWrapped any time
4 object(s)Open as a list
243 logged today