THE 35-YEAR SIGNAL

The VISIØN project is more than just modern synthwave; its beginnings stretch back thirty-five years ago to the origin of synthwave itself, to 1980s and 1990s synth pop music, neon lights and stylized artwork, and old high-school memories. For decades, this project existed as a persistent rhythm – a teenager constantly drumming out beats on desks, humming aimless tunes into the air, writing sci-fi short stories, and attempting to capture all of it in abstract sketches drawn on graph paper.

Back then, the music was just a series of cassettes, mix tapes adorned with hand-drawn cover art. They were collections of songs that together conveyed a vague idea of stories or concepts, music that fueled the imagination of the one who’d drawn the sketches. Even though they have all since been rendered as high-quality digital artwork by their creator, those original pen-and-marker sketches still hang on the office wall – a daily reminder of how times may have changed, but the feeling, the ‘vision’, is still there.

BECOMING REALITY

The journey back to music started almost by accident, through a weekly tabletop role-playing game session among friends. Technology had come a long way in the intervening years, with AI-assisted creative outlets appearing on the scene, and while their first appearances were awkward and contentious, recent iterations had become much improved, especially when it came to creating art and music. Wanting to bring more depth to a science-fantasy campaign where the PCs were member of an interstellar synth-metal band, RC created a virtual band called “The Voidfinder”… mostly just to see what this new tech could actually do. What started as a fun exercise for a small group of friends and family struck an unexpected chord (pun intended) as suddenly ideas for songs and lyrics that had been pent-up for years finally found an outlet. The generally enthusiastic response from the gaming group only further fueled that initial spark, and RC decided to revisit those old mix tape concepts and stories, and give the “VISIØN” project a chance at becoming something more like they had originally imagined.

Armed with a smattering of self-taught musical technicality, and several decades of listening to the music they loved, RC began digging into what made those bands sound they way they did: learning about synthesizers, instrumentation, time and key signatures, musical modes, and how it all came together to make a real emotional impact. Armed with a DAW program, AI assistance, and a head full of knowledge and lyrics of their own making, RC began writing, producing, and mastering the debut album, Invasion, bringing those old high-school ideas out of the static and into the light.

THE DUO

The transition from a solo project to a duo happened at a critical junction. Enter Trystan, RC’s partner of over twenty years, a talented vocalist in a local men’s choir with a background as a music major. Hearing the Invasion album captured his attention, genuinely surprising him with its unique and engaging sound.

The only problem was the quality of the final recordings, which showed how new RC was to using music software. As the second album, City, neared its release date, Trystan staged a creative intervention. He insisted on halting the release to edit and remix the music by hand, and then properly master each track, giving the songs that had caught his attention the treatment they deserved. The songs also inspired Trystan to dust off his own songwriting skills, and start to offer his own contributions to these stories and ideas he’d been waiting to hear for years.

Today, VISIØN is a true partnership. RC remains the primary architect of the music and themes, coming up with ideas for songs and writing the original lyrics. Meanwhile, Trystan works magic in the DAW, ensuring every frequency is polished, and is beginning to offer his own musical insight to the project in the form of collaborative efforts in writing and arranging.

THE DIGITAL TOOLBOX (OUR AI PHILOSOPHY)

Within VISIØN, we view technology not as a replacement for the artist, but as the ultimate instrument. We utilize a suite of virtual tools, MIDI synthesizers, and AI assistance to produce our sound.

We treat AI as a versatile digital session musician. We write the lyrics, we choose the instrumentation and styles, and we map out the emotional arc of every track. We then use AI to perform what we have written—including our virtual vocals—before selecting and mixing each track by hand until it communicates precisely what we want to say, allowing us to express complex arrangements that have been trapped in our minds for years without a means to perform them. It is a blending of human imagination and machine potential.

THE HORIZON

What started as a solo mission to clear out thirty years of unexpressed thoughts and ideas has become a living, breathing musical entity. With Trystan now fully on board, the collaboration is deeper than ever. He is currently remastering the debut Invasion tracks and co-writing for our upcoming third album, Chase, and will be lending his own (virtual) vocals to the mix on a new single for Invasion, as well as appearing on future releases.

VISIØN is the sound of a thirty-five-year-old dream finally breaking free. Thank you for listening to the transmission.