Most people I meet in real life have never heard of vaporwave. I only learned about it myself in 2017, and by then it was already 'dead'. As a genre, vaporwave consists of remixed tracks from the 1970s or 1980s, typically groovy stuff like Sade, Prince or Michael Jackson. Vaporwave is created by shifting the pitch and tempo of these famous songs, often slowing them down and layering small sections in loops.
The overall aesthetic of vaporwave is one of nostalgia, retro-technology and analog signals. In a broader sense, vaporwave is much more than music; it has its own art style. Icons like the McDonald's 'Mac Tonight' mascot, or the classical sculptures of Floral Shoppe are widely recognized and imitated.
Mac Tonight is the mascot of Late Night Delight.
The famous Floral Shoppe
Vaporwave has a proliferation of sub-genres. Mallsoft tries to emulate the sonic space of a shopping mall in the 1990s. Future Funk has a cleaner, danceable sound that is closer to house music. Meanwhile, Signalwave degrades the audio from commercials and old TV shows with static and analog interference.
Anyone can make a vaporwave album. It just takes some basic editing skills and a music program like Ableton. I released my vaporwave album earlier this year on Bandcamp using only Japanese sources for the music. I've been into Japanese jazz fusion albums for over 15 years and its association with vaporwave has been a huge draw for me.
TIME ROAD by Fightman
Another aspect of the vaporwave philosophy is taking what is old, worn and commercialized and making it into fresh, non-commercial content. Mac Tonight is no longer just for McDonald's; he symbolizes an idea that transcends the business he was created to promote. Lots of vaporwave artists embody this concept by releasing their music on cassette and VHS tapes.
Personally, I love vaporwave music videos. 4 tracks on Time Road have videos, including the one below which uses New Wave commercials from 1985. I hope you enjoy it!
Fightman - 早くやれよ (Just Do It) Music Video
