Vaporwave: Music Nostalgia
A work of passion, created by anonymous enthusiast all over the World
Japanese 80s Pop music style, aesthetics revolving around old digital pixelated graphics & neon lights, catchy stretched-out music — placed on repeat, lyrics — none or at best a single line, throw in elevator music & old Pepsi commercials, and of course, anonymous artist; This is Vaporwave.
A summary that another vaporware fan would disregard. Wait; what?
This music genre is not easy to define, and I will try to explain why. Vaporwave incorporates existing music and changes it by slowing it down or making it fast or even breaking it up. Resulting in the creation of something different; which can be anything from eery to beautiful. Despite focus on 80s pop culture; any song or music piece can be used in the creation; hence resulting in varied interpretation of this genre. This has led to the creation of many sub-genres. The description in the start best describes the subgenre called Future Funk — a future searched for in the past.
Before we dwell further, let us listen to one of the pieces that gave Vaporwave life. This name is familiar to all Vaporwave fans, without exception.
リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー by Macintosh plus aka Vektroid; I can totally imagine the facepalms on all the new readers on seeing the Japanese text.
So you might be wondering, is the artist Japanese?; unlikely as Vektroid is based in Portland, then why is the name of the song in Japanese? You ask. In fact, Vaporwave songs are either named in Japanese or English. This music is made by modifying existing songs — to avoid copyright concerns; that also explains the artists' anonymity; Vaporwave takes a lot of its inspiration from the 80s, especially Japanese 80s City Pop genre; hence, the Japanese name. Check out a popular Japanese City Pop song. Finally, the aesthetics seen in these music videos, have Japanese anime style 80s influence.
Now you might be thinking, Why call it Vaporwave?
There are two theories regarding this matter. First theory; Vaporwave comes from Vaporware, a term used in the computer industry about a product that is never released/delivered — alluding to the Nostalgic feeling this music arouses. Yet, this nostalgia has not been experienced in reality. Second theory; Vapor in Vaporwave alludes to an ever-changing sound or is ethereal; while the wave is a supportive word to indicate this music's style, commonly used word in different electronic music genres — example, new wave.
Since its inception in 2010, Vaporwave has matured and has thousands of songs under its belt; Given anyone can fiddle with electronic music; it is impossible to keep track of all the songs released into the digital universe of the internet. Having said that, websites like Bandcamp provides a platform for aspiring artists to monetize their content, enough to keep them afloat professionally. And if you want to experience the visual aesthetics, then look no further than good ol’ Youtube.
Vaporwave prides itself in the production of music that endeavors to induce Nostalgia in its listeners; I think that makes Vaporwave relevant today more than ever, especially, in these tiring times.
None of my acquaintances knows about Vaporwave, probably that is the reason for this article. To enjoy an experience truly, you need to share it. If you are looking for something new while stuck at home during this Pandemic, I hope this essay finds you, and you enjoy it as much as I did.
