Interview with Flashback

Flashback is a Dutch synthwave producer who has been seriously making music for a number of years. He recently released the song ¨Whispers¨ with Lyst and a new track will soon be released (made together with Sea Of Signs). Time for an interview!

Klik hier voor het interview in het Nederlands.

Flashback, can you please introduce yourself?
Certainly! My name is Maurits van Buren and I have been making music almost all my life. In 2020 I started seriously delving into music production after being captivated by the magic of synthwave. My ambition was to make my own synthwave tracks and I found a teacher who taught me everything about production, from working with a DAW to mixing, arrangement and synthesis. To this day, I go there every month to further develop myself.

From that moment on things went fast: within a year I finished my first full track, and after two years I released my first EP. In 2023 I decided to make a full-fledged album to really mark my entry into the synthwave scene. That became Teal Magenta, which was released in early 2024, with the single Alpha Centauri. Although I didn't do much promotion at the time, the track was quickly picked up. After that, I started making more and more connections in the scene, which eventually led to collaborations like Reckless with Zed Arkadia.

Music remains a passion for me alongside my work and family life, and although it is sometimes challenging to combine everything, creating music gives me a lot of energy.

You released your latest track ¨Whispers¨ together with Lyst. Can you tell us something about how this collaboration and production came about?
Shortly after the release of Teal Magenta I came into contact with Lyst, whose music I had long admired. He helped me a lot with Liminal Spaces and in the summer of 2024 the idea arose to make a track together. That became Whispers, which was released in January 2025 and was a huge milestone for me.

The collaboration with Lyst was fantastic. He is not only a brilliant musician and producer, but also a great person to work with. The end of 2024 was a hectic period for me, which meant that production took longer than planned, but in the end we created a track that I am extremely proud of.

What are your further plans for 2025 musically?
I want to continue to develop myself as a producer and get a little better every day. My next release will be released on March 28: Storm Over Kauai, a collaboration with Sea Of Signs. It's a track inspired by tropical islands and storms in the Pacific and the collaboration was really great.

I also have a number of new tracks in the pipeline that I am very excited about. Without revealing too much: these songs show a different side of my music and have challenged me to try new things.

Why did you choose to produce synthwave music?
Synthwave grabbed me from the very first moment. I discovered the genre about five years ago through artists like The Midnight, Timecop1983, FM-84 and Carpenter Brut. As a child of the late '80s and early '90s, the sound immediately felt nostalgic and familiar. I've always had a soft spot for synthesizers and a lot of my music is directly inspired by the video games and soundtracks of my youth.

As an independent producer, how do you promote your music and try to reach new listeners?
That was a learning process. For Teal Magenta I decided to set up an Instagram account six months before the release and actively build an audience. I also started looking into playlisting, including via SubmitHub, and I made a lot of contact with other synthwave artists.

For me, the power of the community works best. You can't connect with the whole world, but a group of artists with whom you exchange ideas and support each other makes a huge difference. That's what I personally enjoy most: helping each other grow and making beautiful music together.

For those readers who make electronic music themselves: can you give us a glimpse into your studio?
My studio at home is quite minimalist; I try to keep it calm and functional without unnecessary distractions. I also work monthly in a studio in Nieuwegein, where I continue to experiment with new sounds and techniques.

Which synthwave artists inspire you when making music?
There are so many! Of course the artists I've worked with, like Lyst and Sea Of Signs, but also The Midnight, Sunglasses Kid, Darkest, Droid Bishop, FM-84, The Last Concorde, Miami Nights 1984, September 87, Quixotic and ZAYAZ. I also get a lot of inspiration from music from the '80s and '90s — I even have a special 'retro' playlist with tracks that immediately fuel me creatively.

The synthwave scene in the Netherlands is very small compared to, for example, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. What initiatives do you think are needed to introduce this music to a wider audience?
Good question! I think interviews like this already help a lot in connecting artists and reaching a larger audience. Personally, I place less value on where someone comes from — music transcends borders.

There are certainly great initiatives, such as the joint album that a group of more than 50 synthwave artists recently released as a fundraiser for Out Runner, who ended up in hospital after an accident. The many collabs within the scene also contribute to the growth and visibility of the genre.

What do you like most about the '80s?
Everything, haha! But if I have to choose: the films and the music. I am a big fan of The Terminator, Die Hard and The Thing and composers such as John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream and Vangelis have influenced me enormously. In my mind, the 80s feel like an era where anything seemed possible — a time without the internet or social media, where you really had to go on an adventure to discover new music and films.

Finally, do you have any final words for the readers of this interview?
Great that this platform exists to bring synthwave artists together! I really enjoyed participating in this interview. Go synthwave!

You can follow Flashback on:

• Spotify
• Instagram
• YouTube