stereoscape rec. open call — compilation 2025

We were looking for original, never-before-released compositions that respond to the unique prompt.

This image by Lesbianboy was the promt for this year's Open Call and will also be the cover image of our compilation album. We also asked for a brief explanation of how the given image was interpreted with the submission.

We received many more submissions than last year. Therefore, we have changed the concept of the selection process and will not do a stream where live ratings are awarded, but have opted for the shortlist principle, which we explain below.

The Shortlist

As we wanted to make it as fair as possible, we as the label didn't want to do the evaluation ourselves, but rather involve a jury of people recognized in the scene to help us curate the album.

The jury has voted 33 out of 46 submissions onto the following shortlist.

You, as a community, now have the chance to vote for your favorites that should make it onto the compilation before we determine the final selection. You will find a form below to submit your votes. The deadline for submission is June 1, 2025.

👉 Community elaboration form

The jury members who helped evaluate the submissions and curated the shortlist

Andrew Walker

Andrew Walker aka Designsince86 is a graphic designer, and music producer based in San Diego, California. He is the founder of Stratford Ct, probably the most active and influential record label for chillsynth and adjacent genres at the moment. With artists such as Hotel Pools, Forhill, Decisive Koala, VIQ, and Admo, combined with his unique album cover designs and a generally distinctive feel for music, Andrew has helped the genre and its artists grow in popularity for over 10 years now.

Alex Boychuk

Alex Boychuk is a musician, guitarist and music producer based in Kiev, Ukraine. His style ranges from upbeat synthwave to ambient chillwave, often with soulful guitar work. He is also known as the curator of the hugely popular Chillwave / Dreamwave playlist on Spotify and he loves to support and collaborate with artists from the community, especially up-and-coming talents.

Davit Gogiberidze

Davit Gogiberidze aka DavZ is a music producer, software engineer and plugin developer (under the name Aviary Audio) from Australia. He's part of Lofi Girl's first synthwave compilation, and has released several albums with the likes of Midwest Collective and Polychora Records. DavZ has collaborated with musicians such as Decisive Koala, Hotel Pools, Zane Alexander, Downtown Binary, and YOUTH 83, and is considered one of the inventors of the chillsynth genre as well as a leading producer and influencer of the datawave genre. He helped found the radio station chillsynth.fm, where he also curated a selection of tracks from popular artists in the scene.

Christopher Tsagakis

Christopher Tsagakis aka Decisive Koala is a musician, guitarist and producer from Long Beach, California. Inspired by sunny beach days and serene night skies, he mainly uses hardware synthesizers and effects to create his music. He released his first physical album in 2021 via Stratford Ct. Since then, he has been continuously working on new music and collaborating with other artists to discover new ways of creating sound. With his latest album 73° and Sunny, he set new standards with a hybrid mix of chillsynth and vaporwave.

DEPARTURE

DEPARTURE remains an anonymous but influential figure in the chillsynth scene. Since 2018, he has released some very well-received singles, including on Lofi Records. He also designs and builds his own analog audio effects and recording equipment. Although he doesn't release music continuously, he works on new projects and is constantly improving his production techniques. He describes himself as someone who loves the process and often acts as a consultant for production and analog equipment, for which he is highly respected in the community.

Gianluca Marchese

Gianluca Marchese aka Adam Ford is a music producer and audio engineer from Italy. He has collaborated with artists and collectives such as The Present Sound, Synstem96, Forhill, YOUTH83, and Downtownbinary, among others. Under his alias Rainoir, he explores the darker side of ambient music, crafting immersive soundscapes. Known for his atmospheric, textured sound that blends elements of deep house, downtempo, and future garage, he brings a distinct artistic vision that has earned him strong recognition within the scene.

Rafał Stachowiak

Rafał Stachowiak aka Stachy.DJ / ® AV limited ™ is a drummer, DJ, music producer, mix/mastering engineer, sound designer and label owner. He has made music with Westbam, and Moonbootica, and remixes for Pierre Henry, and Hildegard Knef, among others. He has worked for labels such as The Very Polish Cutouts, Freude Am Tanzen, Superkasety Records, Underwater Computing, Global Pattern, and Liquid Sound. He is passionate about vaporwave and its subgenres, which he also releases under the aliases hofuku sochi 報復措置 and Micro7oft. Most recently, he composed and directed soundtracks for various theater productions in Poland and Germany.

Robert Evan Kreiner

Robert Evan Kreiner aka S.P.H.E.R.E.S is a graphic and motion designer, DJ, music producer and glitch video artist based in Toronto, Canada. He has a many years-long history in the music scene as a drum and bass DJ & event host prior to getting involved with production. With his unique hybrid sound, which pushes the boundaries of chillsynth, he enriches the genre and enjoys a high level of recognition in the scene. His debut album “Space Age” was released in 2025 on vinyl via Stratford Ct, with more to come.

Will Hurley

Will Hurley aka HurleybirdJr, known for being admin of ChillSynth (Discord, Social Media), describes himself as a passionate music enjoyer, chillsynth enthusiast, as well as a 3D artist and occasional programmer. Most people in the community may also know and appreciate him for his ChillSynth feedback streams, where he gives his critical opinion and improvements for work-in-progress productions.

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