June 25, 2025, 6pm
Brooklyn 11238
USA
Join us at Bar Laika on Wednesday, June 25 from 6pm for the fifteenth edition of Playback with Kyle Dixon.
Kyle Dixon is an American composer and producer, best known as one-fourth of the Austin-based experimental synth group S U R V I V E and as co-composer of the acclaimed score for Netflix’s Stranger Things, alongside bandmate Michael Stein. The series premiered in July 2016—just two months before S U R V I V E released their second album, RR7349.
Before forming the quartet, Dixon and Stein explored sound through field recordings, often venturing into tunnels and climbing water towers around Austin with battery-powered modular setups and recording equipment—much like scenes you might expect from the Stranger Things kids on their bikes. Unlike the laptop-based performances typical of live electronic music at the time, S U R V I V E brought full setups of synthesizers and amplifiers into dive bars, delivering legendary live shows that filled rooms with immersive, crushing sound.
Whether they realized it or not, Dixon and Stein were laying the groundwork for their future as one of today’s premier scoring teams. Rather than describing their instrumental synth music in technical or musical terms, they often used visual imagery—“a helicopter soaring over a waterfall” or “a high-speed chase down darkened Los Angeles alleys”—to convey its atmosphere. As Stranger Things continued through its fourth season in 2022, Dixon and Stein remained at the helm of the score. In 2018, they also released the companion albums RR7400 (Live) and RR7400: LA041717 (Studio). Their work on Stranger Things has earned numerous accolades, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music at the 69th Emmy Awards. Beyond the show, Dixon and Stein continue to compose for feature films, documentary series, and large-scale installations—while still performing with S U R V I V E.
Playback is a series of listening events curated by Kamran Sadeghi where record labels, musicians, composers, and producers feature recordings from their catalog, and premiere album pre-releases, archives, and other rarities.
For more information, contact laika [at] e-flux.com.
