About Circuit Tide
Circuit Tide is an ’80s-inspired synthwave project built for neon nights and endless roads. Its DNA is unmistakably retro: analogue-style oscillators, chorus-drenched pads, arpeggios that shimmer like dashboard LEDs, and drum machines that hit with gated authority. Basslines glide in legato phrases, countered by crystalline leads and DX-era chimes. The palette feels pulled from a well-worn cassette—warm, saturated, slightly unstable in the best way—yet the mixes land with modern punch.
The songs are about momentum and mood. Verses cruise on steady sequencers; pre-choruses lift with filtered pads; choruses open into widescreen melody. Bridges often flip the script with half-time grooves, vocoder fragments, or cinematic swells that nod to vintage film scores. Hooks are central—memorable, hummable, and framed by arrangements that never overstay their welcome.
Sonically, Circuit Tide balances romance and grit: tape flutter against precise programming, soft-focus ambience against razor-sharp transients. You’ll hear the signposts—Juno air, Prophet warmth, FM sparkle, Linn and 707 snap—shaped through contemporary processing for clarity on modern systems. Lyrical and visual themes orbit neon noir: late calls from payphones, rain on plexiglass, the hum of transformers above a sleeping city. It’s escapism that remembers the feeling more than the facts.
On stage or on screen, Circuit Tide favors immersion: clean lines, saturated colors, retro-future typography, and tasteful VHS texture. In the studio, the workflow treats the DAW like a vintage rack—parallel drum buses, chorus and plate reverbs, slap delays, and careful headroom to let the low end breathe.
For listeners who crave the romance of the past without losing today’s impact, Circuit Tide offers a skyline of sound—bright circuits, rolling tides, and melodies that keep the highway open long after midnight.
The Story | TIDEFALL
The City Districts
The Glimmerfront
The jewel of Tidefall: chrome towers, glowing beachfront promenades, rooftop pools, and endless nightlife. Beautiful on the surface, hollow underneath. This is where the wealthy sculpt their curated strata-lives, and where Tidefall pretends everything is perfect.
Coral Sprawl
Bioluminescent underworld of living tech.
Floating platforms and half-sunken structures overgrown with coral-cybernetics. Home to the Coral Syndicatures, where biotech surgeons ply their trade and the water itself seems to pulse with strange life. Gorgeous, deadly, hypnotic.
The Harmonic District
The silent heart beneath the city.
A restricted zone above the submerged chambers where the Harmonic Engine operates. Cold, polished, eerily calm. Citizens rarely enter unless summoned, and those who do leave with a sense that the air itself is listening.
Azure Court
Corporate Citadel — heart of control.
A district of towering arcologies, mirrored glass, and emotionally sterilised plazas. Here resides Tidefall’s ruling technocracy, and beneath its shining floors hums the Harmonic Engine’s influence. Order enforced with living machines and velvet tyranny.
The Tide Markets
Chaos made festive.
A sprawling labyrinth of night bazaars, street food, hacked strata booths, weapon stalls, and smuggler docks. Everything can be bought here — from second-hand memories to coralware prototypes. Loud, colourful, barely legal.
Driftzone Shore
Fraying edges of civilization.
A strip of decaying piers, salvage yards, and old shipyards that connect the city to the floating exile-archipelago offshore. Half-forgotten by Azure Court, half-watched by criminal enterprise. Nothing stays hidden here for long.
The Sunken Arc
Where Tidefall fell into the sea.
A ruined waterfront quarter partially claimed by water after a past harmonic anomaly destabilised foundations. Tilted structures, flooded passages, strange resonance effects at night. Locals avoid it; Nullbound pilgrims revere it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about our band, music production process, and collaborations.
What type of music do you make?
Circuit Tide is neon-noir synthwave: analog warmth, VHS haze, and midnight-drive melodies riding punchy drum machines.
What gear do you use?
Ranging from analogue drum machines to VST Synth Plugins, we use whatever the song needs to get the best results. Some examples are: Arturia Software Synths, Engl Guitar Amps, Ibanez Guitars, Roland Drums, EZ Drummer Libraries and much more
Do you collaborate with other musicians?
Yes, we love collaborating with talented musicians to create amazing music together. We believe in the power of collaboration and showcasing different voices in our work.
Do you use Artificial Intelligence?
The short answer is: yes, we do. However, the reality is more nuanced. We believe that no artist should have their work ingested by a large language model and replicated endlessly without their explicit consent. To us, AI tools are valuable only when they respect the boundaries and intellectual property rights of creators. For this reason, we developed our own language model and trained it exclusively on material for which we received explicit permission to use.
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About Our Business
At Circuit Tide, our main focus is story-driven music. Join us in our musical journey and delve into the abyss!
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