Lane Visitor

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Wow, thank you man, really appreciate the words, and glad you connect with it.. That was the idea.. a late night noir vibe, both relaxing and a bit suspenseful, and based on the film. Ahh, thanks Chim! Means a lot :) I have some future plans for another interactive thing tied to my upcoming crs 4 called "crisis revelation solution" (kind of a different beast from the rest of the series, and more trip hop-oriented than vaporwave. which im sort of taking a little more seriously), possibly involving a conspiratorial vhs tape/mini-documentary - crs related, but still working it all out. In the meantime, not sure if you guys saw this, but Midnight Moon Tapes just put out my latest in the series CRS 3.0--which funnily enough the majority of was actually created before 2.0, so some of it might be a little dated in terms of my sound, this one is a split with Cat System Corp out of the Netherlands- legit vaporwave dude. Side A is me, and Side B is him. Was honored that the 110 tapes sold so quickly, very humbling feeling. I'm hoping 4.0 will get similar attention as well. Here's a bandcamp link: https://midnightmoontapes.bandcamp.com/album/crs-30 and the album on yt:

I skipped dinner cuz I was working on music all night, and was super hungry and planning to go out to get something to eat, but decided to stay home and eat a giant bowl of honey nut cheerios with fresh ice cold milk instead. Fucking worth it.

I mean if anyting, it's absolutely undoubtedly the second wave of cyberpunk. We're all techno-junkies trapped in virtual reality and we like it this way as self-destructing as it is. I mean in a world / era that's already beyond cyberpunk's predictions, everyone in the modern world right now is experiencing and living it--many of us are just self aware and have chosen vaporwave as a means to celebrate it, whether ironically or not. ... stops before ranting about AI / IoT / human nature blah blah blah

Yeah, the vaporwave high is over I think. There are occasional new things that come along that nearly reach it, but almost all musical styles are cases of diminishing returns. We're six years since the bulk of those classic albums, not many styles manage to keep up a regular stream of worthy records that long without morphing and changing dramatically. It's kind of why I've stopped looking for new stuff. I have a big 24 hour playlist of classics on my iTunes and it does the job nicely. +1 Of course every new genre has its grand opening phase and every new fan of a certain thing has his/her honeymoon period with it so to speak, so its nothing unique to vaporwave i dont think and it doesnt mean its any less alive than it was--just different it seems. But with all that said, one thing that still fascinates me is how a music genre/art movement born on the internet could be so potent and so captivating even without the element of irl connectedness or a live / visceral experience. It's quite an odd thing that this movement, which lacks a platform beyond 0s and 1s can have an effect like its the second coming or the presebt day punk rock at the very least. There's no doubt a collective consciousness that's bringing us together here, worshipping this awesomeness thats really just a bunch of dada / nonsense when it all boils down or at least from the surface. But maybe its something more spiritual and highly meaningful in fact, the nostalgia, the statements on consumer / pop culture, technology, our lives etc... I think it's actually more about us and this community than this "sideshow" that is vaporwave (as the mainstream regards it). I mean we're the ones scavenging for or observing the stretched out audio euphoria of some passage from a 90s JoJo song or Kate Bush refrain in order to get an instant sugar rush, or the ones interpreting some wacky futuristic midi album like far side virtual as "an accelerationist masterpiece of eco-minded, tech-forward utopia and its absurd consequences on the human condition" (not an Adam Harper quote, but easily how I'd imagine him describe fsv). No one else really cares about some pitched down obscure italo instrumental from 1988 except us. We're the ones giving this stuff meaning and light, and we've all constructed a community around this phenomenon. From the words of Underworld "you bring liiight in" :D whatever it is, maybe its brought us together for reason?

Yeah, the vaporwave high is over I think. There are occasional new things that come along that nearly reach it, but almost all musical styles are cases of diminishing returns. We're six years since the bulk of those classic albums, not many styles manage to keep up a regular stream of worthy records that long without morphing and changing dramatically. It's kind of why I've stopped looking for new stuff. I have a big 24 hour playlist of classics on my iTunes and it does the job nicely. +1 Of course every new genre has its grand opening phase and every new fan of a certain thing has his/her honeymoon period with it so to speak, so its nothing unique to vaporwave i dont think and it doesnt mean its any less alive than it was--just different it seems. But with all that said, one thing that still fascinates me is how a music genre/art movement born on the internet could be so potent and so captivating even without the element of irl connectedness or a live / visceral experience. It's quite an odd thing that this movement, which lacks a platform beyond 0s and 1s can have an effect like its the second coming or the presebt day punk rock at the very least. There's no doubt a collective consciousness that's bringing us together here, worshipping this awesomeness thats really just a bunch of dada / nonsense when it all boils down or at least from the surface. I think it's actually more wbout us and this community than this "sideshow" that is vaporwave (as the mainstream regards it). I mean we're the ones scavenging for or observing the stretched out audio euphoria of some passage from a 90s JoJo song, or the ones interpreting some wacky futuristic midi album like far side virtual as "an accelerationist masterpiece of eco-minded, tech-forward utopia and its absurd consequences on the human condition" (not an Adam Harper quote, but easily how I'd imagine him describe fsv). No one else really cares about some pitched down obscure italo instrumental from 1988 except us. We're the ones giving this stuff meaning and light. From the words of Underworld "you bring liiight in" :D

Some random recent thoughts of mine, genre-related.... I wonder if you guys have a similar experience w this... So, it seems as time has gone on from the initial, let's call it the de-virginization period that occurred during the discovery of this genre... it's almost like I'm left perpetually chasing the high of that loss of metaphorical virginity when seeking our new releases or even listening to favorite releases of mine in general. Sometimes ill catch glimpses of that feeling and ill even be able to meditate on it and its like pure cyberpunk futurist bliss, but nothing compares 2 u, moment of floral shoppe / sunset corp vids / f500 releases era of yt/ bandcamp euphoria. But to know and realize "we were there" is often good enough :D

WOrd! Never a better place to talk v@pouRvvevé & music in generale than w my fella w@tmm mateyz.

21 / 110 left! https://midnightmoontapes.bandcamp.com/album/crs-30

The new Actress single.. so good.

Donovan Hikaru & 猫 シ Corp.'s CRS 3.0 artwork revealed and release date announced! Out Next Friday (3/17) at 12noon PST on digital and Limited Edition Sky Blue Cassette! [via Midnight Moon Tapes]

Assuming you're referring to the hardvapor josh? Haha

a lot of what you said in this post is spot on.. however, I think you're looking at it pretty black and white and maybe interpreting it with a certain expectation. totally maybe its not your thing, but i think it's worth pointing out the value of well done vaporwave... regarding: most of the stuff is basically downtempo instrumental hip hop or ambient music, with these ridiculous conceptual narratives that don't organically arise from the musical source. Without a doubt, the genres you listed are essentially what lots of these kids are re-making but using samples of samples--and unfortunately, many not realizing there were scores of movements before them that did similar things with a more forward thinking approach, and within original innovative means. I'd 1000x rather listen to Kruder & Dorfmeister than A E S T H E T I C - CORP xzy xyz's latest EP that simply pitches down or heavily samples actual downtempo like the K&D or Jaffa or Thievery Corporation. So I get you there. And as for smooth jazz, I'm huge into Fatburger, Victor Feldman's 80s work, stuff on TBA Records, Tom Scott, and of course J-fusion and boogie and stuff like that. However, where vaporwave shines is in releases that build something using obscure thrift store sources or 90s smooth jazz schmaltz, but to use the music effectively.. Releases that do this well do two things-- they a. make the passages of the original samples sound super good and b. find a way to have the samples make the new creation sound good as well. It's synergy. To me, these are prime examples of this kind of success, without using a Vektroid release to demonstrate: https://swampcircle.bandcamp.com/track/foggy-daybreak from the following lp--which is materfully done imo--when you have a min listen through, it's a moody dystopian/utopian journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaVofN2KgYc And of course, the masters themselves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAvtHVO2W3s i mean this is verging on eccajams, but... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS9AEOFFOFM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-_SMVGwFNQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3aWYom7qxo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qce8gP4eXKY ^ that last one is an example to me of how vaporwave can capture pure beauty and emotion in a single moment--by how what you said, kind of stretching out a euphoric passage into infinity and meditating on a repetitive version of it. .... Look at the how the emotion on her face changes--but in slo mo and with that music, you almost feel like you're there with her, or you're her. This is kind of a prime example for me of why vaporwave is just highlighting the beauty, absurdity, terror, sexyness, and drugged out bliss of audio from the dusty bins of a haunted past. It's just effective. And when you wrap a story around it, a concept, a full release, it's just that much more potent. solid post, i'll work through these. off hand is there any russian vaporwave? anyone know? soviet era vaporwave or something? i feel like hauntology and vaporwave have a lot of overlap, would be interested to know if someone has explored that part of the world and its history. This earlier release from the Dope Fish label is legit Russian i believe. https://dopefishfamily.bandcamp.com/album/--3

a lot of what you said in this post is spot on.. however, I think you're looking at it pretty black and white and maybe interpreting it with a certain expectation. totally maybe its not your thing, but i think it's worth pointing out the value of well done vaporwave... regarding: most of the stuff is basically downtempo instrumental hip hop or ambient music, with these ridiculous conceptual narratives that don't organically arise from the musical source. Without a doubt, the genres you listed are essentially what lots of these kids are re-making but using samples of samples--and unfortunately, many not realizing there were scores of movements before them that did similar things with a more forward thinking approach, and within original innovative means. I'd 1000x rather listen to Kruder & Dorfmeister than A E S T H E T I C - CORP xzy xyz's latest EP that simply pitches down or heavily samples actual downtempo like the K&D or Jaffa or Thievery Corporation. So I get you there. And as for smooth jazz, I'm huge into Fatburger, Victor Feldman's 80s work, stuff on TBA Records, Tom Scott, and of course J-fusion and boogie and stuff like that. However, where vaporwave shines is in releases that build something using obscure thrift store sources or 90s smooth jazz schmaltz, but to use the music effectively.. Releases that do this well do two things-- they a. make the passages of the original samples sound super good and b. find a way to have the samples make the new creation sound good as well. It's synergy. To me, these are prime examples of this kind of success, without using a Vektroid release to demonstrate: https://swampcircle.bandcamp.com/track/foggy-daybreak from the following lp--which is materfully done imo--when you have a min listen through, it's a moody dystopian/utopian journey: And of course, the masters themselves: i mean this is verging on eccajams, but... ^ that last one is an example to me of how vaporwave can capture pure beauty and emotion in a single moment--by how what you said, kind of stretching out a euphoric passage into infinity and meditating on a repetitive version of it. .... Look at the how the emotion on her face changes--but in slo mo and with that music, you almost feel like you're there with her, or you're her. This is kind of a prime example for me of why vaporwave is just highlighting the beauty, absurdity, terror, sexyness, and drugged out bliss of audio from the dusty bins of a haunted past. It's just effective. And when you wrap a story around it, a concept, a full release, it's just that much more potent.

I hear you.. there's a lot of crap out there for sure--mostly coming from kids who are fans that want to make their share of the sound as well, thinking they can just grab stuff off youtube and throw plugins on it in a daw. The term has become very watered down. Agree about that Ferraro album and many of his are brilliant imo. I set my own bar pretty low for enjoying new vaporwave releases personally, but every now and then there are some fire albums or EPs. You just have to look around a bit. I'm pretty burnt out on checking on new releases in the genre actually--typically the only time I will is when its a producer friend of mine or fav artist / label etc, but even then it's hard to really stay engaged. But like I said I think of these heavily samples releases now as mostly mixtapes, with concepts and atmospheres. So if I feel like I wanna hear the sounds of a shopping mall or like I'm at a business conference or like I'm on some international night flight, then i'll try and find a suitable release for that mood. I don't care who made those tracks originally and don't care who the "vaporwave artist" is in those cases, just literally want to space out to some shit. Now when I am in the mood to seek out innovative releases or fresh new music, I don't typically browse the vaporwave tag, but rather check out electronic music forums like this one ;) or certain soundcloud channels or blogs. It's a love / hate thing for me, but it's the community and the ideas and the approach that keeps me coming back.

so they literally just slowed down existing songs? is that it or am i missing something? to be fair this one is pretty shitty and heavy on novelty / gimmick, this is nothing in terms of quality when it comes to the same formula executed well but yeah "eccojams" style vaporwave / i.e. classic vaporwave is chopped up, slowed down, and looped samples... very similar to DJ Screw stuff or witch house but with different sample sources, usually late 80s to early 90s muzak, new age, easy listening, smooth r&b and top 40-esque pop, etc. lol, amazing. that CGI phone damn this is lushSorry I messed up the quote thing in my earlier blank post... Yeah, I definitely don't disagree with your assessment of that EP being pretty much only about the novelty gimmick side, and Keanu would certainly be best advised to find a more recommended or staple vaporwave release to introduce him/her to the genre. Releases like this are kinda the equivalent of the whole "broperwave" thing--just slowing down a bunch of 80s pop / motown and putting images of busts / fiji bottles on the cover. My own reason for toungue-in-cheek fawning over something like OK Oil Company (lol) is more about my own weird infatuation with the idea of obscure cowboy/trucker music playing at some diner near a truck stop in the middle of nowhere. And pitched down just pushes it over the edge for me in that "I just got chloroformed by some creepy dude outside the diner and he just stole my car and drove away" feeling that's just too much fun to not soak in. Yeah I'm weird and too many viewings of Breakdown with Kurt Russel. :D #Belle'sDiner

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Oh wow listening to this now, delicious... I remember now i checked out all 3 releases before, really great stuff.

Ah yes the stuff I heard from Skeleton has been pretty awesome, will have to check that one out!

Poll: What vaporwave releases have you guys been listening to the most often as your go-to releases lately? Lately mine has been MIDI's Virtual97, [Physics] - Not Even Real and this guy out of Russia- Alex Movers, fun stuff.

I love this btw, gives me cozy feelings lol

so they literally just slowed down existing songs? is that it or am i missing something? So you're not missing anything per se, logically, but most heavy sample-based vaporwave is actually much less about musical production/craft/ability, and mostly about presenting selections of altered audio and recycled/found internet-sourced art and packaging it through concepts and atmospheres it would never have otherwise been connected to. Pretentious... Lazy... Adolescent? Maybe, but it's a rich movement nonetheless. If you can try and think of it (at least the heavy sample-based examples) as less of -a music genre with "artists"/"albums", and more of an internet art/sound experiment ... And instead of artists the creators are more "strange djs", or "curators" "editors" etc, putting out "mixes" of slightly warped stuff theyve found and collected to put into one bizzaro mixtape, then youre more likely to appreciate and enjoy vaporwave in all its ego-less dada-ist glory.

Puts it into perspective, doesn't it? He's already accomplished exactly what he wants by having us thinking, talking, about him all day every day, whether positive or negative. In many ways, he's won. He pretty much is our "dear leader". It's all just extra bonus fun for him from here out.

We should create a poll on whether/when he'll be impeached. Would be fun to even place money bets on it.