RetroManni is a digital artist located in the UK that specialises in Retrowave and Cyberpunk. He blends colourful dystopian themes with neon colours to produce pieces of art that not only look beautiful, but also tell a story. This is especially apparent in this 5D Starseed project which is a new animated series and illustrated story book which portrays the story of Anya who is on a journey to discover the power of the 5th Dimension.

His Twitter profile can be found here:

His extensive Objkt collection on Tezos can be found here:

Who is RetroManni, tell us a little about yourself?

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to speak with me Drache, your support throughout 2022 has been more important than you know. (DT11 - A pleasure my Fren)

Retro Manni is the reincarnation of my brand as an artist. I’ve tried many identities over the last 20 years, but this one stuck because I think it represents the realest version of me.

I’m originally a filmmaker, which is what I did my degree in. But over the years I’ve found the need to continually reinvent myself, add new strings to my bow and just try new things. I get bored with my own work, so I always like to push myself into new & uncomfortable skill sets.

So, the short answer is, I’m now a filmmaker, digital painter, animator, 3D artist & music producer. Mainly because technology means I can be.

My biggest reinvention, though, started in 2021 when I had a sudden heart attack at 36. After an operation & having to medicate daily with a bunch of tablets I’d never heard of before, I went into quite a deep depression. Only 3 months earlier, I’d quit my decade long job as an art teacher to dedicate all my time to setting up my own business, but that all stopped. I was no longer providing for family or anything.

I was like a ghost. One day I had Youtube on, and a video by Joe Dispenza came on, and everything I heard literally kicked me out of my depression. I started meditating, becoming more grateful and stopped feeling like a victim. 2022 was a huge year for me. I achieved so many things I could’ve only dreamed about before, so the change was incredible.

What drew you to this Synthwave and also Tezos?

My love of Synthwave & Retrowave culture is unashamedly connected to my childhood. I was born in the eighties, grew up during the nineties, so most of my fondest memories revolve around the culture at the time. That includes 16bit gaming, early morning cartoons & pure, unadulterated synth sounds.

The more I have started to understand myself through therapy, meditation & just introspection, I’ve realised that it’s also connected to a lot of past trauma & insecurity. Pop culture during the eighties & nineties was a source of strength, safety, and security for me during some of the most challenging times, particularly at school. So, as an adult I’m kind of revisiting & reactivating those memories and using them as a source of inspiration.

Regarding Tezos; I was drawn to Tezos just out of simple intuition and following my own internal guidance. When I first started in web3, I spent ages obsessing over different blockchains, trying to understand what the hell the difference was.

One day, I woke up early and saw that Objkt & Teia were doing a Twitter Spaces together. I just had this calling to join. That’s the first time I heard the Teia and Objkt community speak about the whole process, and I just knew this was where I needed to be: the slow building, the authenticity, the nature of the tech, the philosophy about art and creativity. My first mints were on Teia and then I gradually moved over to Objkt.

What is your creative process and your greatest influences/inspirations?

I’ve gotten pretty quick at coming up with concepts nowadays. Ideas will hit me when I least expect it, so I kind of know to not overthink that process and just wait for something to strike. But the moment I get them, I’m frantically grabbing any paper I can find and sketching, writing, storyboarding with every ounce of energy I have. Once I know it’s a good one, I start making. My best work always starts with me having no clue about how to make it, I just know what I want it to look like.

But, I usually lack the skills to bring it to life, so I’ll be on Youtube and Google, finding what software I need to learn, following tutorials and creating a bunch of side pieces in the process.

In terms of my influences and inspirations, it’s impossible for me not to mention Japanese culture. I always have been drawn to it. When I was a kid, my dad used to do these watercolours of classic Japanese woodblock prints. We had them up all over the house. I never really tapped into my Indian heritage at all, mainly because I think my dad was a rebel himself, so I didn’t really feel connected to it.

My older brother also introduced me to a lot of movies as well, everything from Rocky & Back to the Future to Transformers & Akira. And then of course, there’s console gaming. Zelda, Final Fantasy, F-Zero, Metal Gear Solid. All these things played a huge role and are filed away in my brain, ready for me to rummage through them when I need to create something.

Let’s talk about latest work. What's the story behind it? What would you like the readers to know?

Damn, I’ve got a few. Well, my most important, and most personal, project is 5D Starseed. An eighties style animated series about a young girl who is forced into having a spiritual awakening in order to save the planet. The first episode dropped and was collected by Misan for the Tezos Permanent Art Collection. Each episode takes a lot of time, so it’s definitely going to be my long-term focus over the next 5 - 10 years.

My latest piece was a collab with Lucid Dreamer He created a phenomenal AI animation and asked me to do a Synthwave soundtrack to, plus the end title sequence. This was the first time I got to fully immerse myself in the music and help bring someone else’s visual world to life through retro synth sounds. Music is something I’m pushing this year.

It’s something me and my brother used to play around with a lot when we were teenagers, so bringing that side of me out again has been really liberating. And I know Music NFTs are well on their way to shaking up the whole industry, so really stoked to be a part of that movement.

What have you got planned with your next collection and do you have any closing words for the readers?

I’m close to dropping a great collab with JBurn, so I’m super excited about that. I was a huge hip-hop head as a kid too, so I’m really pumped about combining one of the best rappers at the moment with my brand of retro culture.

I’ve also got my own Synthwave Album coming out called Pink Cassettes: Volume 1 sometime in spring. Plus, a bit of a secret collab collection with one of the best AI artists out there and maybe exploring some AI fiction writing too.

Also, I didn’t think I’d do it, but I always follow my inspiration if it comes to me. So, my first 100 collectors will be rewarded with a super dope PFP collection this year.

And finally, I want to spend more time on Tezos Outpost 2049 this year. I hosted 3 of these curated cyberpunk spaces last year and I really enjoyed the storytelling and the sense of community, so definitely will be doing more of those this year.

Closing Thoughts

RetroManni is not someone that rests on his laurels. I would go as far to say that RetroManni is one of the ambassadors of the Tezos NFT blockchain. He is very active in the NFT space and always shares his insights in a polite and enjoyable way.

I’ve had the chance to talk with him in spaces a few times and our ideas certainly go off track, because I feel we both have a little bit of the philosopher gene in our DNA and we tend to ask thought provoking questions.

Manni is pushing the NFT scene, and his hardworking attitude and creativity is resulting in some amazing pieces being produced.

I’m happy to have a few of his pieces in my gallery and I’m always on the lookout for future releases.