Twice Dark, forever 80’s: the pure and nostalgic sound of Josh Kreuzman

Saturated with the pasteurized sound made today, I’m in a phase of rescuing songs from the 80s, especially those with an authorial feel that touch deep in my soul. In this search, I came across names like Oingo Boingo – one of the most underrated bands on the planet, I would say, “Skin” is one of the best things ever written – and, of course, Depeche Mode, one of my eternal favorites, whose “Speak and Spell” I just bought in an Amazon promotion.

Through one of these beauties of the algorithm, I came across a strange (in a good way) project called Twice Dark, whose single “Necromantic” featured a beautiful goth girl on the cover – who I imagined would be the vocalist (Okay, guilty!) So, when I pressed play, I immersed myself once again in the entire universe of synthesizers and sad poetry that only a period as rich as the 80s offered me. Despite sounding “outdated” by some, as in the case of “Speak and Spell”, simplistic synth-pop, with its dark aura, has something that no other genre offers: lyricism.

“… a lot of music I hear seems disingenuous, like they’re writing it for a commercial or spring break add, there’s never any real emotion or specific point of view from the person writing the music, It’s very generic so it appeals to everyone“.

Josh Kreuzman

From Indiana to the world, Josh Kreuzman is the name behind Twice Dark, who is preparing to release their full album with introspective and still very amusing singles like “Necromantic”. A purist, Kreuzman seeks to abstain from what is musically produced today in commercial terms, using references such as Dave Gahan’s band and David Bowie as his main raw material. “Those seem to be the 2 artists that bands emulate from the 80s, Depeche Mode and David Bowie. I love them both“, Kreuzman claims.

Created only five years ago, 2025 has everything to be the greatest year for Twice Dark. After all, the upcoming album, suggestively called ‘Telekinetic’, which will be released in March, promises to take listeners even deeper into his haunting, sonic landscapes, solidifying Twice Dark as a rising force in the world of darkwave and electronic music. But Kreuzman wants much more: “I’ve already started writing new music for a new album as well which will hopefully be out in early 2026, maybe earlier”. As it seems, the darkness never ends.

2 5 Things about Josh Kreuzman (Twice Dark)

RC – Hey Josh, thanks for talking to us. How is it going? Are you in Indiana ?
J– I’m doing well, thank you, yes I live in Bloomington, IN.

RC – “Necromantic” is a song that mixes Dark and Electronic with a 80’s vibe that I’ve never seen these days. Are you being nostalgic / you’ve been listening artists like Depeche Mode your whole life?

J – I love 80s music, and synth pop in general, it’s my favorite genre by far. It is nostalgic but it’s genuinely what I enjoy and what I like to create. I do get a lot of inspiration from Depeche Mode as well as David Bowie. Those seem to be the 2 artists that bands emulate from the 80s, Depeche Mode and David Bowie. I love them both.

RC – Tell us how do you make your own songs. Its feels like you have an entire (human)
band, but you actually do it only with some apps / computer?

J – Now I actually have a guitar player who joins me for live shows but yes, I play everything on the recordings myself. I usually start with drums and a bass line using Logic Pro then I add various software and hardware synthesizers. Then I add guitars and vocals. I get lyric inspiration from things I read and watch and hear in movies, tv shows, books, graphic novels and other music.

RC – Have you ever done any shows with your set list? If yes, how is it? You just take your laptop and act like a DJ set?

J – I use an Akai MPC Live 2 which has my backing tracks. Then I sing and play bass over the top of that. I have a guitar player and backup vocalist for live shows. It took me a while to figure out the best way to perform my music on stage.

RC – What do you think music being made today misses in terms of creativity? Do you think the industry depends on AI more than ever?

J – It does seem like AI is being used more often than it should. I think AI should be used as a tool to create but not the only tool. It could be a good way to mock up ideas but I personally wouldn’t want to get any end result from AI. I don’t listen to a lot of pop music, I listen to old music on Spotify so I don’t hear a lot of what’s being made today. I guess what comes to mind is that a lot of music I hear seems disingenuous, like they’re writing it for a commercial or spring break add, there’s never any real emotion or specific point of view from the person writing the music, It’s very generic so it appeals to everyone.

RC- What’s your next step? Maybe creating a video for the song?

J – “Telekinetic” is the full length album coming out on March 7th. Necromantic is the 3rd track on that album. I create Lyric videos and visualizers for every song which you can find on my youtube page. I’ve already started writing new music for a new album as well which will hopefully be out in early 2026, maybe earlier. Thank you so much for speaking with me.