Videotheque: The Stunning Music Video by NINA and Ricky Wilde
“Videotheque”: what would a music video look like if it crossed the realms of noir, retrowave, and cyberpunk?
The question sounds simple, but the answer given by NINA and Ricky Wilde in “Videotheque” is nothing short of fascinating! Glitches, synths, and visual nostalgia melt together into a full cinematic expression — as if it were a VHS recording found in some long-lost nightclub of the ’80s.
It’s an immersion in analog retrofuturism, blending synthpop with Tech Noir aesthetics and the golden legacy of eighties pop — all redesigned through the lens of synthwave.
Marcel CHAOS
“Videotheque”: Cyberpunk and Tech Noir in NINA & Ricky Wilde
Back in the day, when Billy Idol, Kim Wilde, and even the virtual icon Max Headroom took over the screen to show a style way beyond radio standards, they were already pointing straight toward the future — right in the middle of the ’80s!
Billy and Kim were flesh-and-blood heroes of the new pop. Max, on the other hand… wasn’t even “real”. He was built from a human actor to perform as a virtual TV host. Makeup and effects gave him the illusion of being computer-generated.
MTV, music video shows, and VHS tapes soon amplified their presence, spreading that sound and aesthetic across the globe.
Billy Idol, Kim Wilde & Max Headroom: Architects of a New Audio-Cybervisual Era
Together, these three laid the foundation of what we might call soft cyberpunk pop — a bridge between the mainstream market and the digital underground of that era, which would later mold today’s Retrowave aesthetic.
Nowadays, with AI already creating characters with voice, image, and movement, it’s impossible not to recall the inventive spark of Max Headroom.
And musically speaking, Billy Idol’s cyber-rock and Kim Wilde’s soft cyber-glam find a new pulse in NINA & Ricky Wilde’s “Videotheque”. A track wrapped in shimmering synthpop energy, sharply produced, and deeply connected to the Retrowave scene — while still retracing the pioneering path carved out in the 1980s.
“Videotheque”: the temple of Dance …
Here, “Videotheque” becomes a vault of imagery — a collection of scenes and moods layered into a single setting.
The editing, sharp cuts, and rhythmic flow sync tightly with the duo’s sound. The colors, the selective use of black-and-white, and the refined cinematography give the clip its weight.
The coolest part? NINA and Ricky bring the ’80s cyberpunk spirit back to life, with style.
The opening shot is a stack of glowing CRT televisions, some flickering static, others showing that iconic vertical rainbow test screen — the symbol of a broken signal.
Visual signs foretelling the glitch to come.
…
Then the duo takes over, like a clandestine transmission hijacking your screen — a poetic hack into the visual narrative.
No wonder those green DOS letters (the most futuristic system back then) appear typed across the video.
Videotheque: Cyber-Certified
NINA and Ricky reframe the cyberpunk aesthetic in their wardrobe. Ricky steps in with a high-collar shirt and a noir-style trench coat.
NINA, meanwhile, embraces the femme fatale archetype in leather — jacket, crop top, and the essential dark shades.
But she isn’t the classic noir femme fatale. She’s dystopian. Straight out of the imagined future — powerful, commanding, and visually striking. (Think Molly from William Gibson’s Neuromancer.)
Ricky Wilde, on the other hand, taps directly into 1980s mainstream culture — both through his legacy producing for his sister Kim Wilde and through synthpop melodies. Now updated with a Retrowave edge.
The art direction, however, avoids the overloaded cyberpunk cliché. Instead, it chooses minimalism: a clean set, where photography balances neon lights with the shadows of Tech Noir.
… a ghostly, holographic Presence
The video amplifies its spectral atmosphere with a brilliant projection behind NINA and Ricky — like a hologram or giant screen materializing them in 3D.
The lyrics echo this visual perfectly: “Ghosts are just lovers on the screen.” While the VJ beams the light, the artists of flesh and bone interact with their holographic doubles — blending digital and physical realities into one.
That’s what makes this “Videotheque” a dancefloor for illusions — where technology turns into passion, reimagining soft cyberpunk aesthetics and retro-futurist dreams.
As they sing:
“Slowly my senses are leaving me.
Once the two of us are in 3D, we’ll play the game.”
Desire, memory, or simulacrum? Take your pick.
Musically, it’s futuristic at its core — synths and guitar riffs colliding with catchy refrains that stay in your head for days.
…
Curiously, very little of this was done in mainstream pop back in the ’80s. Most artists leaned into rock, New Wave, and the chase for stardom.
Bolder concepts like these were left to cinema, games, and sci-fi.
Retrofuturism
Now, in the 21st century, retrowave and cyberpunk artists are reclaiming both the sound and the look imagined in the ’80s. And they bring them to a generation that never lived through that golden age.
They build a retrofuturist worldview — where technology is a tool to amplify a vintage model.
A model that still inspires today’s cultural scene, spilling over into cinema, fashion, gaming … and of course, music.
…
Originally, “Videotheque“ was a 1982 hit by the British duo Dollar, produced by the legendary Trevor Horn. A smooth, elegant piece drenched in early ’80s sophistication.
NINA and Ricky’s version keeps the retro spirit alive but injects it with raw synthrock energy, cinematic production, and guitar lines that hit straight to the gut.
Through “Videotheque”, NINA and Ricky deliver a conceptual statement — helping us understand the very soul of retro-futurism.
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Do you agree?
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Photo 1: NINA, NINA, a German singer and songwriter based in London and Berlin making synth-pop/synthwave music, 2021-03-22. Photographer: Rod Trussardi. (Date: 2021-03-22).
Atribuição: Rod Trussardi – VIZROD Vizualography Media, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
Photo 2:Ricky Wilde during Werner Rennen at Flugplatz Hartenholm, Hasenmoor, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany on 2019-08-30. Photographer: Sven Mandel. (Date: 2019-08-30).
Atribuição: Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Marcel CHAOS is a researcher of film noir and cyberpunk — and, beyond that, a photographer and editor at Area Orbital.
