Vaporwave might be one of the most pretentious genres of music ever created. Coined on various social media sites such as Tumblr, Reddit, and 4chan, Vaporwave draws heavy influence from genres like Ambient, Progressive Electronic, and Plunderphonics, or the heavy use of musical samples. The lofty artistic statements made by various artists in the genre are equal parts fascinating and nonsense.
The genre originated as a visual aesthetic that combined elements of 80's and 90's pop culture, early graphic design elements, Greek sculpture and architecture, and contemporary Japanese culture, among other things. The musical answer to this art style comes in the form of the recontextualization of smooth jazz, elevator music, and adult contemporary pop music, also typically from the 80's and 90's. These sounds are often reorganized by the artist and often pitch-shifted into a lower register, giving the music a hazy, surreal quality.
Since the genesis of the genre in 2010 and 2011, Vaporwave has become a global subculture amongst Internet-dwelling music snobs with multiple releases coming out every year from independent and signed artists alike. The genre has also taken on a political life of its own, offering a critique of the capitalist system. The idea behind the Vaporwave is to make art that is so close to art that was already made and still turn a profit. This is the basis for the heavy use of sampling and already made music in most Vaporwave tracks.
If you're curious, here are ten Vaporwave releases worth your attention that'll surely give you a feel for this bizarre micro-genre.
1.) Chuck Person - Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1
This is the album that many believe started the whole movement. Originally conceived as a joke project by experimental electronic music artist Oneohtrix Point Never (a.k.a. Daniel Lopatin), this album gained a life of its own on the 4chan music forum. Despite the popularity of the project, Lopatin has not released music under the Chuch Person pseudonym since this album.
2.) James Ferraro - Far Side Virtual
This is the release that cemented the bizarre narrative surrounding the Vaporwave scene. Ferraro is and likely will continue to be a musical eccentric releasing numerous projects on an incredibly consistent basis with a strong sense of artistic purpose. From the incredibly odd R&B project NYC Hell 3:00AM, to the electronic classical composition Human Story 3, Ferraro is always experimenting and trying new things. Far Side Virtual was the originator of the critical angle directed at capitalism that Vaporwave frequently toys with.
3.) Macintosh Plus - Floral Shoppe
Floral Shoppe might be solely responsible for the current popularity of Vaporwave. Macintosh Plus is one of the many pseudonyms used by electronic music producer Ramona Xavier, who had been toying with these sounds since the release of Eccojams Vol. 1, nd this happened to be the release that stuck. This album is frequently cited as the go-to release for those curious about the genre due to how seminal it is.
The collaboration between Vaporwave artists Hong Kong Express and t e l e p a t h known as 2814 is one of the few artists in the genre to break into the mainstream. The duo got an article written about them in Rolling Stone, and this is the critically acclaimed album they released to warrant all the attention. 新しい日の誕生 leans very heavily on the ambient influences that have since come to dominate the Vaporwave scene.
5.) Saint Pepsi & Luxury Elite - Late Night Delight
The split album released by these two artists also garnered a fair amount of attention. The Saint Pepsi track "Enjoy Yourself" is considered one of the best Vaporwave tracks ever created, a distinction that granted Saint Pepsi an actual record deal. Ryan DeRobertis, the man behind the Saint Pepsi project now creates music under the name Skylar Spence and is signed to Carpark Records.
6.) Blank Banshee - Blank Banshee 0
Blank Banshee 0 is another interesting record in the Vaporwave canon, being one of the earliest examples of genre fusion. Here, Blank Banshee fuses the hazy sounds of Vaporwave with Trap music, a popular genre of electronic music that draws influence from hip hop beats.
7.) マクロスMACROSS 82-99 - A Million Miles Away
This electronic music duo from Japan also are responsible for the initial fusion of Vaporwave with another genre of music: funk. Macross draw most of their samples from funk music of the 70s and 80s and combine it with a bizarre anime-inspired aesthetic.
8.) death's dynamic shroud.wmv - I'll Try Living Like This
This Philadelphia music project is known for its interesting approach to the genre of Vaporwave. dds.wmv's tracks are incredibly layered and intricately produced, giving the album a real sense of polish. One of the common criticisms of Vaporwave is that it's very low-skill and one could churn out a passable album over a long weekend. However, this album is an example of how this is not always the case.
9.) Nmesh - Nu.wav Hallucinations
Similar to the above example, no expense is spared in the making of Nmesh's music. His dense and claustrophobic productions are as detailed as they are awe-inspiring. However, the lineage of what Nmesh does is rather unique, seeing as he's been a club DJ since the early 2000s making some hard, danceable techno music.
10.) t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 - 夢の国
This is frequently cited as the best release from Vaporwave artist t e l e p a t h. However, the artist himself has had more of an impact on the Vaporwave scene than this individual album, as he founded the dominantly Vaporwave-based record label known as Dream Catalogue with fellow artist and collaborator Hong Kong Express.
