Netflix's addictive '80s nostalgia trip Stranger Things wouldn't be the same without that authentic, synth-heavy music.

S U R V I V E's Kyle Dixon, who created Stranger Things' iconic '80s soundtrack with bandmate Michael Stein, recently spoke about how they created the main theme of the show.

"It's an old demo Michael had, but it's nothing like what you hear... nowhere near as much of a piece of music as it is now," he admitted to Billboard in a new interview. "That was just some random thing that ended up in the library they had and when they found it they were like, 'what if this was the main title?' We thought it could be good, so we built it out. We've been wanting to get into music for TV and film for a long time, but we had no idea how. We've been passively creating libraries, weird droney noises... so we had this collection of songs that we were trying to figure out how to present to people in film."

The music wasn't just to benefit the show to give it an '80s feeling - it also benefited The Duffer Brothers, the show's creators, during the casting process.

"They said our music was actually used to help cast the show. During the demo period they said, 'we know you can do dark and epic, but this is a show about a group of kids, so we need to show the producers that you can do the more lighthearted, sentimental stuff.' So a lot of the demos were like that," Dixon explained. "They made the decision to play our music over the auditions and that was the deciding factor in casting."

Two volumes of the Stranger Things soundtrack have been released digitally and have already torn up the charts. The first volume debuted at no. 24 on the Billboard 200, an impressive feat for an instrumental album. The volumes will be released via CD in mid-to-late September.

The first season of Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix now. The series has not yet been renewed for a second season.

Tags: Stranger Things netflix television