business nights ’99- vaporwave special
For today’s Sunday Special, I’m taking you into a deep dive off the musical shores of vaporwave. Spotify playlist here.
Often better known for its visual aesthetic, vaporwave began as a musical genre in 2011. It is associated with nostalgic and surrealist takes on pop culture, particularly technology and advertising. Visually, the genre incorporates late 90s web design, early digital art, sunsets, VHS, 3D-rendered objects, and greco-roman statues.
The album art of Flower Shoppe (2011), showing key elements of the vaporwave visual aesthetic: Greco-Roman statues, city scapes, 90’s technology, japanese characters
Flower Shoppe (2011) and the origins of vaporwave:
Track 1: リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュ (Lisa Frank 420/Modern Computing)ー by Macintosh Plus (Vektroid, Ramona Andra Xavier). Album: Flower Shoppe (2011). Produced when she was just 18, this album came to define the musical genre of vaporwave. This song, arguably the most famous vaporwave track of all time, samples Diana Ross’s ‘It’s Your Move.”
What is vaporwave? The genre originally started as a variant of chillwave, under the umbrella of electronic music. Vaporwave first reconfigured music of the 80s and 90s using chopped and screwed techniques, slowed down samples, and heavy reverb. Now it has expanded to include completely original music. It embraces the internet as a medium and inspiration, and incorporates elements of electronic, lo fi, smooth jazz, elevator music, R&B, and lounge music. The genre is notes for its ease of entry- it typically requires only rudimentary production skills.
Track 2: Dubai Dream Tone by James Ferraro. Album: Far Side Virtual (2011). Produced on GarageBand, this was a concept album designed as a series of downloadable ringtones. It is also one of the first to properly be considered “vaporwave.”
Track 3: Eccojams B1 (27:06)- Chuck Person. Album- Chuck Person’s Eccojams Vol. 1 (2010). THis album and track are formally considered plunderphonics. Person had a huge influence on vaporwave as a genre. Samples John Martyn’s “Sweet Little Mystery” and Phil Collins/Marilyn Martin’s “Separate Lives.”
Where is the name from? The name comes from the term “vaporware” which is commercial software that is announced but never released. The first use of the word “vaporwave” was in an anonymous review of the 2011 album “Surfs Pure Hearts” by Girlhood, but Flower Shoppe was the first officially of the genre.
Track 4: Purity Kiss- Girlhood
2012-2015: Vaporwave’s teenage years:
2012 saw the influence of trap music on vaporwave. Artists began exploring vaporwave as its own distinct genre, leaving behind the exclusive sample base of the past.
Track 5: Wavestep by Blank Banshee. Album- Blank Banshee 0 (2012)
2 8 1 4’s “Birth of a New Day”
Track 6: [Twin Palms]- cat system corp. Album- hiraeth, meaning a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past. Samples “I can’t let you go” by 52nd street.
Track 7: 恢复 (recover)- 2 8 1 4. Album- Birth of a New Day (2015). This album, notably, does not use any samples. It dominated Bandcamp charts in 2015, and 2 8 1 4 even included on Rolling Stone’s “10 Artists You Need To Know” list. The widespread popularity of this album, and vaporwave in general, led to the use of vaporwave aesthetics by pop artists of the time. This propelled the visual aesthetic to the popular culture to the point where it became a meme. Fans were quick to pronounce the “death of the genre,” and early artists began shifting to other genres. Vaporwave, nevertheless, persisted!
Vaporwave of today:
Track 8: Joy Of Soul Contact- Mindspring Memories. Album- Soul Visioning (2021)
Track 9: Stasis- Eagle Eyed Tiger. Album- Smile for the Camera (2020)
video boutique by vcr-classique
Michael Nesmith of the Monkees– Funnily enough, vaporwave is one of Michael Nesmith’s favorite genres. He is quoted saying, “I tell everybody I meet about it. Once you open it up, it’s like cracking an egg. It goes all over the place.” He cites his favorite albums as Flower Shoppe (macintosh plus) and Birth of a New Day (2 8 1 4).
Track 10 (a Michael Nesmith favorite): D a n c i n g q u e e n (vaporwave remix). “It’s the most psychedelic stuff I’ve ever heard since psychedelics”
Track 11: Playback- </body> (body end tag). Album- Information Superhighway
Track 12: business nights- vcr-classique. Album- video boutique (2020)
Track 13: 1998- FM Skyline. Album- Advanced Memory Suite
Mall Soft– amplifying vaporwave’s lounge influences
an example of the mallsoft visual aesthetic
Mallsoft is one of the subgenres of vaporwave, calling on its lounge influences and carrying themes of nostalgia and commentary on corporate capitalism.
Track 14: Nature- US Golf 95. Album- swing tournament (2018). Samples “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson.
Track 15: Coping with Frustration / Finding Yourself- o c e a n s h o r e s. Album- content feelings (2018)
Track 16: Run the Juuls- limousine, waterfront dining. Album- Omega Mall X (2020)
a fan’s interpretation of mallsoft
Track 17: Currency exchange- limousine, cat system corp. Album- Paypal Playboy (2018)
Vaportrap
This is another subgenre, taking samples from video games and early 2000s computer software.
Tracks 18 and 19: “-NEW ADVENTURE- ::unlocked::” and “Looking for Clues in the Broken Clock Tower (Harbor Level)”- l a z u l i _ y e l l o w. Album- The Hidden Temple of Wuhu Island (2021). This is a concept album based on wii sports resort.
Future Funk– french-house inspired offshoot
This subgenre expands upon disco and house elements of the orginal genre. Most samples here come from japanese city pop.
Track 20: Static Startup- skule toyama, funking. Album- popslinger official soundtrack (2022)
General Vaporwave
Track 21: In Between clouds- be careful, eventual infinity. Album- dissipated skies (2022)
Track 22: Blue- bl00dwave, riverwave. Single (2020)
Track 23: T.V Party. Album- memories (2018)
Track 24: Age.of.Aquarius- AUTO Album- New Age 86 (2013)
