future-sounds.co.uk

March 25, 2024
3:25 am

Source – https://www.pfsynth.com/?feed=rss2

future-sounds.co.uk

https://future-sounds.uk/

Sat, 23 Mar 2024 14:14:44 +0000
en-US

hourly

1
https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3

https://future-sounds.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FutureSounds_whitetransparent-100×100.png
future-sounds.co.uk
https://future-sounds.uk/
32
32

210948709
One to one with US Golf 95:Talking [PlayStation] jungle & the future of Vaporwave

One to one with US Golf 95:Talking [PlayStation] jungle & the future of Vaporwave

Sat, 23 Mar 2024 14:11:57 +0000

One to one with US Golf 95:Talking [PlayStation] jungle & the future of Vaporwave

<![CDATA[

A year on from its release, US Golf 95’s [PlayStation] jungle.psx album gets the platinum reissue treatment. We caught up briefly with the Scottish producer in advance of its re-release, which sees 50 cassettes available with a fresh new design from Pacific Plaza Records. We talked about the VGM revival, translating the sound to the live […]

The post One to one with US Golf 95:Talking [PlayStation] jungle & the future of Vaporwave appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>
<![CDATA[

A year on from its release, US Golf 95’s [PlayStation] jungle.psx album gets the platinum reissue treatment. We caught up briefly with the Scottish producer in advance of its re-release, which sees 50 cassettes available with a fresh new design from Pacific Plaza Records.

We talked about the VGM revival, translating the sound to the live realm, and what the future holds for the wider Vaporwave movement.

[PlayStation] jungle.psx by US Golf 95

First of all, congratulations on the re-release! The album,along with Pizza Hotline’s Level Select, seems to be a statement record in this VGM revival movement – it literally bears the name of the genre (PlayStation Jungle). Can you talk about your gaming and game music memories?

“Many thanks (and shout out Pacific Plaza Records for releasing the cassettes). This project has always had the serenity of old golf video games at its heart, even as it evolves and the reference is less explicit. Since the Sony PSX was released worldwide in 1995 (Japan 1994) I felt my style of music went hand in hand with the style of golf games from that era, and progressing into the millenium.

“There’s something about the warm ambient pads and lush reverbs of this era of games that has always resonated with me and makes itself apparent when writing music.”

What is your process for producing this stuff? How is it different to making more club-oriented jungle tunes?

“The EP came about very naturally. Pizza Hotline was also a massive influence on this release, particularly the liquid dnb breakbeats. I felt at first it was a departure from my typical style, however it’s really just the ambient pads, plucked synths, cheap sounding acoustic guitar emulation I always use with a different drum style.

“I did something similar with trap style drums on my album Serenity and it’s nice to build up an arsenal of different drum patterns that eventually build together across a discography to create a cohesive sound. I’m currently working on a new album that incorporates jungle drum patterns, ambient work, polyphonic reverbed guitar – but with the introduction of ethereal vocals/harmonies.”

What, if anything, makes this kind of thing ‘vaporwave’?

“Vaporwave is in a really interesting place right now. I’ve been making it for 9 years – with the genre being around for just over 12 – and the hype has definitely died down. I see this as a good thing in a way. It’s allowing the envelope to be pushed in many different directions.

“I feel a sense of established artists trying to “jump the shark” into many other genres which is having this really interesting effect of vaporwave casting a much wider net. Vaporwave is now a general feeling. So with [PlayStation] jungle.psx, and similar releases, the nostalgia, artwork and sum total of inspirations for the release keeps it under the vaporwave umbrella.

“I’m really interested in seeing where vaporwave goes in the next 5-10 years – It could potentially be unrecognisable to the core albums that established the genre.”

Was there a particular game/franchise that inspired the track ‘Acclaim Sports’? I have a personal connection to that company and it sent my nostalgia receptors into overdrive.

“Each track is titled after a different video game publisher from the era (some now defunct). I looked through huge lists of publishers for the PSX, studied their logos and the type of games they put out. For the tracks on this release, I often selected the title first and built the music around the logo/games/artwork from the company’s releases.

“Some of my favorite PSX games came from Acclaim Sports – namely WWF Attitude, Dave Mirra BMX and NBA Jam. I must have spent hundreds of hours with their games. Plus their logo is just excellent typography/design. It felt very rewarding paying homage to them and I really enjoyed putting the track together.”

Any desire to perform these tracks out in clubs/venues?

“I’ve thought of putting together a live show – particularly across the past 5 years. It’s just the logistics of how to perform this style of music in a way that’s engaging to the audience and enjoyable for myself. I definitely don’t want to just be hitting play on a laptop, nor building everything from scratch. I’ve experimented with a live set that incorporates some live drumming on MPC drum pads and I hope I can build that into something more concrete.”

Grab your copy while stock last over at Pacific Plaza! HERE

Written by Thom Hosken

The post One to one with US Golf 95:Talking [PlayStation] jungle & the future of Vaporwave appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>

https://future-sounds.uk/2024/03/23/one-to-one-with-us-golf-95talking-playstation-jungle-the-future-of-vaporwave/feed/
0

1515

ECCO CHAMBER #09 [ feat. SkyYamaha, Morgan Willis,DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ, Sferro and Full Eclipse ]

ECCO CHAMBER #09 [ feat. SkyYamaha, Morgan Willis,DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ, Sferro and Full Eclipse ]

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 20:45:56 +0000

ECCO CHAMBER #09 [ feat. SkyYamaha, Morgan Willis,DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ, Sferro and Full Eclipse ]

<![CDATA[

The FutureSounds staff writers kick off the first Ecco Chamber of 2024 with their latest listens. Jay’s Picks SkyYAMAHA – Limerence “Limerence is a state of involuntary obsession with another person. The experience of limerence is different from love or lust in that it is based on the uncertainty that the person you desire, called […]

The post ECCO CHAMBER #09 [ feat. SkyYamaha, Morgan Willis,DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ, Sferro and Full Eclipse ] appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>
<![CDATA[

The FutureSounds staff writers kick off the first Ecco Chamber of 2024 with their latest listens.

Jay’s Picks

SkyYAMAHA – Limerence

“Limerence is a state of involuntary obsession with another person. The experience of limerence is different from love or lust in that it is based on the uncertainty that the person you desire, called the “limerent object” in the literature, also desires you.”

SkyYAMAHA has returned with a beautiful & mysterious new release. The first track (Limerence) starts off with a forlorn stuttering synth pattern – bringing to mind images of a lost and lonely lover reaching out for their infatuation. Pulsating, club ready, kicks and percussion infiltrate the piece next accompanied by synth choir melodies and a throbbing bassline. Then, in comes a haunting melody and the percussive ensemble becomes more complex and evolves. Taking the listener by the hand and leading them through ever changing textures; this piece rides the line of bittersweet perfectly and left me feeling both inspired as well as a little bit sad. A wonderful blend of synth(wave?), Vaporwave and sparkling/experimental electronica.

Track 2: Limerence – Drowning in Your Rain (Deluxe Version) flips the coin and delivers something which feels much more uplifting (perhaps the subject has entered into a new stage of obsession?). The track begins with the sound of pouring rain and glitchy synth patterns, followed closely by beautifully evolving synth pads. The tone is certainly less somber and as I’m listening I can imagine rolling clouds and clear skies starting to replace the pouring rain from the intro. Towards the end the track is permeated by the return of the rain and a softly spoken vocal reciting a short text speaking about love and life. The sound design in this track is sublime.

The third and final track – Limerence (Unlocked!) brings the energy up a notch with heavy kicks and slammed percussion. This movement is very danceable and club ready, while still retaining the beautiful and mysterious vibe with the melodies and sound design. Bit-crushed elements and glitchy switch ups bring to mind early 2000s trance and sci-fi.

This is a release I would highly recommend to anyone with an interest in synth music, sound design / soundscapes, ambient, vaporwave or experimental electronic music. You can listen to the full release on YouTube (there’s also a music video you can check out) or on bandcamp now.

Limerence – Deluxe Version by SkyYamaha

Thom’s Pick

DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ – Honey

DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ has just snuck out a 7″ single featuring ‘Honey’, the epic song that kicks off her 2023 album Destiny, and a brand new B-side entitled ‘Change Your Ways’.

This new/old song is one that didn’t make the cut for the 41-track (!) album, so you could be forgiven for thinking it’d be totally throwaway. Sabrina takes pains in the Bandcamp description to clarify it was only omitted for sequencing, not quality, reasons.

The song is fun, frothy retro fantasy. Repeating synth chords sit atop a slamming 90s-style drum machine beat and ear candy, including a very silly synth horn sound, fizzes about. There is an almost total absence of bass too, as if the sound is coming from a tiny bedroom TV. The heavy vocal processing and dance music-style repetition, breakdown & build (Sabrina is associated with the lo-fi house scene) give away that this is a playful modern production, not historical re-enactment. I hear clear sonic and ideological similarities with Brothertiger and Runners Club 95, artists in our sphere who share a love of simplicity and catchy, singalong pop.

This track is less of a tour de force than the A-side, which somehow evolves from a B*Witched-style acoustic pop song to a scorching 4/4 stomper. But it is still a gently powerful anthem, pleading for a bad person to change their ways.

Honey by DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ

Enzo’s Pick

Sferro – Chiki

Pioneering Synthwave artist, Sferro, is back with a new LP – ‘Chiki’. A collection of tracks which slide deep into Vaporwave territory, continuing their transition away from the classic Synthwave sound they helped to develop.

‘Chiki’ channels Dreamcast aesthetics and wistful nostalgia for simpler times; in this case, the artist’s childhood dream of owning the console, and the joy they felt popping open the disc tray for the first time.

These are bountiful times for a Vapor fanbase looking to re-immerse themselves in console nostalgia, and it reminds me (conceptually at least) of Pizza Hotline’s ‘Level Select’.

Album opener ‘Twinkle Park’ sets the scene, with relentless bleepcore beats and ravey stabs; the Drexciya-esque ’Tikal’ follows, intricately programmed breaks maintaining momentum as we progress through the levels.

There’s no duds on the album, which flies by in the blink of an eye. But for me the standout is the sublime dancefloor ready collaboration with Makeup and Vanity Set, ‘Disco Breakin’.

Grab your iPod nano edition before it’s too late!

Chiki by Sferro

Rob’s Pick

Full Eclipse – In Place of Power

Full Eclipse’s new long player – released on Business Casual – is a majestic tour de force, as the veteran producer embraces an even larger canvass for his emotional storytelling. On ‘In Place of Power’, FE unapologetically exudes an energy driven by lament, frustration – but also hope. ‘IPoP’ is comprised of 12 synth-drenched tracks with a lot of reverbed drums, jagged guitar licks, stabbing piano chords – and, in two standout tracks (‘Current Sky’, and ‘Welcome Home’), a subtly-used saxophone line (played by Michael W Stuart). Yes, there are allusions to Bowie (both the Eno-partnered Berlin trilogy but also his more theatrical and commercial mid 80s period – particularly heard in ‘True Looking Glass’); but listeners will also hear Sisters of Mercy, Roxy Music, as well as the influence of 80s prog rock, 90s industrial, and goth. Unashamedly atmospheric and anthemic, FE has rarely sounded better.

If you’re quick, Business Casual have put out a cassette format in limited numbers, and I can imagine the album sounding great on a matt black early 90s Soundsystem…just watch out for that mascara run as it’s an emotional ride.

Best track: Current Sky.

In Place Of Power by Full Eclipse

Fakeman’s Pick

Morgan Willis – The Last Chase

Synthwave’s staunch and esteemed Morgan Willis is back once again with his latest EP, The Last Chase. The new 4 track collection (with the 4th track ‘One of them days’ being a Bandcamp exclusive) comes off the back of his July 2023 release DANCE and his appearance at our 3rd FutureSounds event last summer.

Dripping in 80s guitar licks and thumping baselines, the opening track ‘The Last Chase’ quickly develops into a future outrun classic. Shades of early synthwave are so apparent here whilst also simultaneously sounding extremely fresh and original.

‘Déjà vu’ continues this high energy release with bang. Morgan’s production here is as clean and crisp as you could possibly imagine. Each synth feels perfectly placed, perfectly toned. The percussion makes even the smallest of beats sound huge. Ear-worm of the highest order!

Track 4, ‘One of them days’ drops the tempo somewhat and throws us back to Morgan’s Miami Calling era with its slowly brooding synths to round off the EP.

A modern classic from Morgan that is bound to be soundtracking summers this year.

The Last Chase by Morgan Willis

The post ECCO CHAMBER #09 [ feat. SkyYamaha, Morgan Willis,DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ, Sferro and Full Eclipse ] appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>

https://future-sounds.uk/2024/02/29/ecco-chamber-09-feat-skyyamaha-morgan-willisdj-sabrina-the-teenage-dj-sferro-and-full-eclipse/feed/
0

1507

One to one with Duett: How sticking to an aesthetic palette (and peril!) drives creativity.

One to one with Duett: How sticking to an aesthetic palette (and peril!) drives creativity.

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 14:55:04 +0000

One to one with Duett: How sticking to an aesthetic palette (and peril!) drives creativity.

<![CDATA[

This month, Future Sounds team member, Rob, sat down with a solid stalwart of the retrowave scene, London UK based, Duett. With releases reaching back a decade, and over a dozen long players and EPs in his catalogue, Duett’s place in the annals of synthwave is secured. His (for Duett is a really a singular) […]

The post One to one with Duett: How sticking to an aesthetic palette (and peril!) drives creativity. appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>
<![CDATA[

This month, Future Sounds team member, Rob, sat down with a solid stalwart of the retrowave scene, London UK based, Duett. With releases reaching back a decade, and over a dozen long players and EPs in his catalogue, Duett’s place in the annals of synthwave is secured.

His (for Duett is a really a singular) particular brand of electronic music is steeped in the aesthetic of 80s and 90s sophisti-pop, nostalgic indents, and commercial scores; soaked in mellow pastels, and pulsing synths. And as we learn, the look, feel, and texture of Duett’s output is just as important as the sound.

Kick back and enjoy this deep dive into Duett’s origins, influences, collabs, and a tease of what’s coming next.

Hello Duett! Firstly, thank you for sitting down for an interview with Future Sounds. How’s your 2024 looking, and how was your 2023 reflecting back?

I think 2023 was great creatively, in hindsight. It’s only after the event that I actually look back and try and make sense of what I was working on, and what we were looking to achieve. With some of my favourite vinyl releases, plus the album with Yatte, and working on Outlines 2 in November, I’m happy with how it went, and how things are shaping up for 2024.

I think I first came across Duett around the ‘Cycles’ album [2018] – which was actually your third long player. I’ve since gone back and listened to (and purchased) ‘Borderline’, and ‘Horizons’. I can definitely hear a progression in your sound – especially from ‘Horizons’ onwards. Tell me what your aim was for the Duett project at that time – and what your thematic influences were then.

The idea for Duett came together pretty quickly, really. I’d been working on other projects for years, but my passion was 80s/synthwave, I just never thought there was an outlet for it. In early 2014 I discovered Bandcamp – and that’s where things really changed. I could see that artists like Mitch Murder were self-releasing music that I loved, and I could see other people were so into it. Aside from that, I wanted to set out a framework for how my project should be, and how I would work on it. I decided that I would make a 3-track EP, in one day, and post it on Soundcloud and Bandcamp at the end of that day – including artwork/titles…and whatever happened, happened.

I think because I’d been building up to working on it for so long in my head, it just all flowed (ish!) as soon as I sat down to do it. I worked from 6am-6pm, and I limited myself to only a few (VTS) synths which included (for the hardware nerds): an FM8, a Korg Polysix, a Korg M1, a Roland 808).

One aspect of making music based in this era – now – is the ability to access just about every sound, ever. So, I chose to work on the basis that if I was making music back in the 80s, then I would only have access to a few bits and pieces. The last big decision for me was the name. I can’t remember exactly why I thought of ‘Duett’, but I remember trying a few names (which had either been taken. or were too “synthwave”). I didn’t want the name to reflect anything about me, and a ‘duet’ could imply two people, rather than just me. The themes I was influenced by then were the same as they are now. I just feel I can reflect them better after 10 years of this project.

The aesthetic of Duett is on point, and very much part of the brand and experience. If I’m right you and Forces Creative have a long running collaboration there (but maybe not since ‘Movement’, ‘Leisure’, and ‘The Minute’)? Did you normally approach them with a concept, or do they respond to hearing the music – or neither?

When I’m working on an album, I often have the artwork in mind before I even start. Sometimes I can see a piece of cover art – whether it be an existing cover or something random – and it can inform the whole sound of what I’m working on. When I was starting on ‘Borderline’ (released 2015) I think I saw Forces Creative on Instagram, and could almost hear what an album would sound like with their cover art. I think the same applies to them too. Once I’d nearly finished the album I contacted them and we went from there. Since then, we’ve met often and become friends. We obviously have so many common reference points when it comes to 80’s style and aesthetic. We speak often and I’m sure we’ll collaborate again.

As well as Duett, you have a slightly darker alter ego project, Alpiine – which kind of borrows from the same 80s palette of sounds, but inverts them into more moody and melancholic tones. Do you plan to carry on with this side project, and what was the impetus behind it?

Alpiine was the result of wanting a slightly more processed/darker sound, but I felt it wasn’t quite right to release as Duett. The process with Alpiine is more in keeping with ‘Horizons’ (2014) and ‘Outlines’ (2020) – in that I limited myself to a few synths, and gave myself time restrictions. I think during lockdown when I had some time to work on music at home, it was a way of giving myself different creative outlets for whatever I was working on. Having said that, I think you can clearly hear Duett running through the Alpiine sound, and vice versa!

Waves by Alpiine

We have to talk about your collabs with (yacht-rock retrowave artist) Yatte, culminating in 2023’s album, ‘The Minute’. Your sounds blend impeccably. How did that relationship start, how did you write and produce it, and will we see another set of releases from you together?

First of all, I’m just a massive fan of Yatte. We were first made aware of each other through (retro artist and designer) Mizucat in 2020. I remember hearing his track ‘Good Enough’ on one of her videos, and genuinely thinking it was an 80’s tracks I had never heard!

From there we started to talk about music and found we have an insane amount of favourite artists and influences in common, and share the same passion for 80’s production techniques. On the first track we worked on, Yatte sent me a skeleton track outline and I added my synth parts, and we went from there – although sometimes I’ll start a track and send it to him and then we just go back and forth adding and editing until we’re happy.

Even though so much work went into ‘The Minute’, I loved working on it, and that’s probably because he is such an incredible musician and vocalist to begin with. A little teaser here: the vinyl and cassette releases of ‘The Minute’ are coming soon, via Timeslave recordings!

The Minute by Yatte & Duett

You’ve branched out into merch – which a lot of artists do – albeit not in the obvious t-shirt-bearing-the-logo way. You’ve used album aesthetics, fabrics, colours and designs to put out some really cool and understated hoodies, tees, and sweaters. You clearly think in a way that makes Duett work as a clothing line, and the artwork you use lends itself to that. We’re perhaps of a similar age – were you influenced by those United Colours of Benetton 90s trends (and similar European brands)?

Any music or merch that I release has to be something I would buy myself. Most of the clothing merch features cover art in some way, as I think that works well, but I have done a couple of releases on Everpress which were more in line with the brands you mention. I’m a fan of the aesthetic of brands like Benetton, Esprit and even the 80’s output of BHS, Debenhams, M&S. They’re as much part of my influence on Duett as any musical artists.

Speaking of merch, we recently put out an article on the Future Sounds’ site about the trials and tribulations of vinyl production. We notice this is still a prime format for you – with your releasing of new and limited re-prints of your albums. You clearly have a good supplier! How do you find physicals in terms of supply, demand, and do you intend to keep putting your work out on records and tapes (please do!)?

I think there was a time a couple of years ago when the backlog was so massive with vinyl suppliers that it was almost impossible for many artists to release anything at all. Thinking six to eight months ahead about what you want to do isn’t ideal; but recently the wait time has become shorter.

Again, when it comes to vinyl and cassettes it’s important that it’s something I would buy. The considerations with vinyl (cost/timescale/postage costs/damage) can be a bit daunting, but I enjoy putting the releases together, and I ship everything myself. The main reasons that I love cassettes are: they look great, they cost less, and you can get a few pressed quickly.

I love your two ‘Outlines’ records, which are derived from – literally that – outlines and sketches and musical challenges you set yourself; posting them across a week on Instagram. Other artists have similar experiments (for example, Sunglasses Kid, and the live experimentations of Brothertiger – which have become his ‘Fundamentals’ collections). How have these ‘Outlines’ tracks landed, and how much do you love doing them – both as a creative exercise and also as a way of engaging and interacting with fans on social?

Thanks! When I’m working on anything I need to be creatively interested in it, and have a fresh idea, but I also have to have some kind of peril involved to drive me on! With the first ‘Outlines’ album (released 2020) I had no intention on day one of actually releasing anything, I thought they would just be vignettes on instagram. I’d seen visual artists on insta take part in daily challenges to create something and that inspired me.

The idea was to ask my followers for themes the night before, and then to work on that for a few hours the following morning and whatever happened had to be published. The jeopardy of knowing you have to make your ideas public, regardless of whether you are completely satisfied with them, inspired me! It focused me on what I needed to do, but it also gave me a caveat if it turned out to be terrible (these were quick sketches)! During the process of the first few days, people began asking me if they could download the tracks, so that’s when I decided to release [them]. The process was exactly the same for ‘Outlines 2’ (released January 2024), although I knew from the start I would release these.

[Both] ‘Outlines’ also bring me back full circle to the first Duett tracks, which were made in similar restricted circumstances, albeit without the interaction with people. I really enjoy working in that way.

O U T L I N E S 2 by Duett

Prior to ‘The Minute’, and ‘Outlines 2’, ‘Leisure’ was your last full album – and was also a concept album of sorts. Do you think you’ll do another concept album, or will you return to making tunes with guest vocalists including (regular collaborators) Hayley Roscoe, Stewart Lockwood (amongst others including Emma Brammer)?

I think all the albums have a concept of some sort, whether it’s using a limited and specific variety of synths/drum machines for each album, or if it’s driven by the cover art…I need some kind of concept before I start, even if the completed album sounds similar in style to something else I’ve done. I guess ‘Leisure’ (2021) and both ‘Outlines’ releases are the albums with a very clear concept. Along with the ‘Palm Bay Ep’ (2022) which I made using only synths from 1990. The EP definitely has its own style compared to everything else.

I’m always interested in working with anyone if I think we can make something cool, and Stewart and I have been talking just this week!

Exciting stuff! Okay, so, finally then – you have done a few gigs, including via friends of ours like Space Jams. Is there a new album in the making, and will you be doing some dates in 2024 to preview the new material?

I’ll be working on some new music over the next few months, but we’ll have to see if there are any dates to go with that. I am really enjoying playing live and meeting everyone in real life [when I do].

Duett – it’s been so great to chew the fat with you today, and we can’t wait to hear what comes next, and to get our grubby hands on those ‘The Minute’ physicals.

Thank you for asking me, always my pleasure.

—————————————————————-

‘Outlines 2’ is out now, and available – alongside Duett’s entire catalogue – at his Bandcamp page.

You can also check out Duett’s clothing and merch line HERE

Finally, Forces Creative’s apparel, posters, music and more can be found HERE

The post One to one with Duett: How sticking to an aesthetic palette (and peril!) drives creativity. appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>

https://future-sounds.uk/2024/02/05/one-to-one-with-duett-how-sticking-to-an-aesthetic-palette-and-peril-drives-creativity/feed/
0

1490

‘Record sales’, but is there trouble in vinyl paradise?

‘Record sales’, but is there trouble in vinyl paradise?

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 22:25:27 +0000

‘Record sales’, but is there trouble in vinyl paradise?

<![CDATA[

The recent resurgence in vinyl production has been great news for indie labels and fans, but there are signs that there might be trouble in vinyl paradise… A recent think piece on The Guardian laid bare the issues faced by small labels, as the greed of the majors starts to bite back. Leading in some […]

The post ‘Record sales’, but is there trouble in vinyl paradise? appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>
<![CDATA[

The recent resurgence in vinyl production has been great news for indie labels and fans, but there are signs that there might be trouble in vinyl paradise…

A recent think piece on The Guardian laid bare the issues faced by small labels, as the greed of the majors starts to bite back. Leading in some cases to production queues not seen since the peak of the pandemic, as well as rising costs that make it significantly less affordable to do the kind of small production runs that helped to kickstart the resurgence in the first place.

A staggering 5.5m vinyl records were bought in the UK alone in 2022; rising to 41m worldwide and dwarfing the number of CDs sold over the same period (33 million).

It all points to a permanent return for a format that had been all but rendered obsolete by streaming trends and the closure of most of the world’s major pressing plants.

So why does it still cost so much to press a record?

‘The Holy Grail’

There’s no doubt that for many artists, having their work pressed to vinyl remains a holy grail – not just in terms of visual presentation, but also as an audiophile experience.

For Belgian artist, Zer0 れい, vinyl is still the medium of choice for a number of reasons.

“There’s this delightful ritual and care that’s taken when listening to a record. In stark contrast to the mundanity of pressing play on a playlist or the practical simplicity of popping a tape in, you take real care and focus to drop a needle onto a vinyl record.

“It’s the ‘real deal’ format that makes a musician an undeniable part of the craft; part of a lineage that goes back decades and gives them that rightful spot in the listeners record collection alongside their heroes and inspirations.”

However, despite the rise in worldwide vinyl sales there are signs that smaller labels are feeling the pinch – and that might not be a good thing for everyone.

With an audience now firmly established and a new generation of collectors hooked, it seems that the artists and labels that helped to kickstart the revival are starting to find themselves (at least partially) frozen out.

Or, at the very least, facing significant challenges to maintain a foothold in vinyl.

‘Harder for smaller artists to break through’

We spoke to the Dutch Vaporwave legend, Catsystemcorp who owns and runs Hiraeth Records. He argues that for a number of reasons, mainly economic, it’s no longer possible to make some smaller runs viable.

As he points out, spiralling costs are decimating profit margins with a knock-on effect on the kind of albums he can release on his label.

“It’s almost impossible to compare the current state of vinyl to pre-Covid times.

“Costs have risen so much that it’s got to a point where it’s much harder to justify smaller projects from an economic point of view. That’s also sad from an artistic viewpoint and makes it much harder for new artists to break through.

“This is still very much a DIY industry at our level, and we don’t have the resources to put into marketing, especially on top of how much it now costs to press records.

“It’s not ideal for anyone to have lots of stock sitting around that won’t sell. I would love to release everything I like, but I have to be realistic and fair to the artists.”

It points to a wider issue in the Vaporwave scene – and other micro genres – that as choice and competition expands, it gets harder to make the profits that will enable you to reinvest in new projects.

Especially when you can’t always afford to cut your prices to be more competitive.

“There’s a level of saturation in the Vaporwave scene now and that’s good for the fans because the choice is there, but with the price of vinyl production now so much higher you end up having to turn down projects that you would love to do simply because you can’t make the numbers work.

“There are pressing plants out there which are expanding their capacity, but because no-one can say for certain how sustainable the demand for vinyl is, it’s not leading to a reduction in costs – despite major labels ramping up their own production”.

For Stratford Court owner, Andrew Walker, these cost pressures have driven him to be as creative as possible with packaging and aesthetically pleasing vinyl variants.

“Rising costs are definitely an issue. With inflation on the rise and most of the economy hurting it’s becoming harder for the majority of our customers to afford a vinyl buying habit.

“I find the need to make the vinyl offering more and more desirable, with new effects and extra bells and whistles, which at the same time increases the price of the final product.

“It’s never a guarantee, but usually if I have a finished product where I think… damn that’s nice… it does end up selling well.”

‘Record levels of production – and yet record costs!’

My own anecdotal experience with MPF and TimeSlave confirms this.

A quick look at some of our early invoices for vinyl production back in 2018 (when we did our first vinyl runs on TimeSlave Recordings) shows that costs have risen by more than 60% since we started pressing records; and like most labels we’ve had to hold prices at the same level in order to retain customers who are now spoiled for choice; even in a scene as niche as Vaporwave or Synthwave.

Don’t get me wrong, choice is a great thing. As is the availability of mainstream albums on vinyl, not least because it’s often those releases that keep people committed to records as an everyday format of choice.

But it’s not only production costs. The pandemic also drove up international shipping costs, which have never returned to pre-pandemic levels, and as the fashion for vinyl has continued to outstrip the emergence of new capacity in the industry to make and press the records themselves, queues for vinyl are in some cases as long as ever.

It’s a heady cocktail, not helped by the much-memed Adele release (30) in 2020, which allegedly saw 500,000 copies pressed, with production capacity at many pressing plants completely halted to meet Sony Music’s gargantuan order.

[Note: you can now pick up a copy of that particular record for a bargain bin price of around £12.00 online!]

And yet despite the rise in demand, costs show no sign of falling as a consequence.

‘Huge upfront costs’

For our part, we’ve always tried to limit pre-orders on the basic principle that it’s preferable for everyone involved to have items in hand when they go on sale. But there are huge upfront costs involved doing it this way.

It reduces waits for customers, minimises the likelihood of stress caused by unforeseen delays, and enables customers to retain the insurance policy of PayPal’s ‘Buyer Protection’ programme.

Recently though, we’ve seen that system bite us on the arse in a big way because of problems with one supplier.

Having invested in six vinyl projects upfront, committing around £20,000 in production costs, we faced sudden, unexplained delays with one broker (no names named) that we have used for around 100 releases.

We were given shipping dates for the first two of those projects, only to be told at the last minute that there was a slight delay.

In good faith, and with a history of trusted interactions behind us, we put two of those records on sale – New Arcades (Leave Something Behind) and Vincenzo Salvia (They Speak Italian) – only to see a short delay become several months of stress and anguish.

Fortunately for us, the first of those has now shipped, with the remainder of that batch of orders now heading in the same direction. But it does call into sharp focus what could have happened if we had engaged in a ‘traditional’ pre order and placed those albums on sale at the very start of the process…

It’s easy to see how a three-month delay could have become six or seven months of panic.

It does rather beg the question, what the fuck is happening in the supply chain to cause all these issues? And how can the issue be fixed?

One pressing plant has been set up, in part at least, to help smaller labels to overcome the challenge.

Enter, stage left, Press on Vinyl – a UK plant dedicated to supporting small labels, with a monthly capacity of around 50,000 copies a month.

David Todd, Commercial Director at Press on Vinyl, says the aim of the plant is to “help as many artists get their records in the hands of their fans as possible”.

“We started Press on Vinyl to help artists and labels of all sizes to gain fair access to pressing capacity at the highest quality standards.

“It is important to us to treat a run of 100 for an emerging independent artist exactly the same as we would an established artist doing 10,000 copies”.

In order to make that process easier for smaller labels, they’ve set up ‘Fairsound’, an initiative which offers zero upfront cost pressing and direct-to-fan fulfilment.

“We believe this helps break down the financial barriers some artists face when releasing their music on vinyl”.

Their stated focus on working smaller labels and artists opens up opportunities for labels like us, tired of being treated as less of a priority.

They also offer competitive rates – as well as the ability to make decisions on the quantity of records being pressed later in the process; something that may help smaller projects get off the ground.

Fake Fever’s ‘Inside the Well’ – pressed by Press on Vinyl (2023)

So, how do these issues affect us at MPF or TimeSlave?

In the short term at least, the issues with delays that we have faced are going to lead to a slight change in the way we deal with vinyl releases in order to recover a slightly precarious position.

Working with a couple of trusted partners, including Press on Vinyl and DMS, we are going to be taking production through to cutting and test presses, as well as signing off the artwork side of things before having a short weekend of open pre-orders – with the main run then arriving within 4 to 6 weeks of items going on sale.

If you’re wondering why I’m laying it all bare in such minute detail, it’s simply because a lot of people don’t understand quite how long and involved the process is. Whereas cassettes, CDs and MiniDiscs can be turned around in a week or two, vinyl lead times are often as much as four to five months long.

Our short-term strategy will enable us to reduce the funds we have to commit upfront, whilst ordering enough stock to satisfy demand, with the only compromise on the customer being a short wait of around a month until items are ready to ship.

It also means that we can continue to support smaller projects from an artistic perspective, without having to over-commit to stock that sits on shelves for months on end simply so that we can access reasonable prices. It’s our solution, but it might not work for everyone.

‘Future-proofing‘

In the meantime, we can only hope that more new pressing plants will continue to be established with a focus on the independent labels and artists that helped to foster growth in the first place.

It’s all good and well having so much mainstream interest in vinyl production, but in an ideal world an expansion in demand as well as capacity would lead to falling costs for everyone – from the labels to the consumers.

Making it an affordable hobby is the way to future-proof demand for vinyl, and at the moment that simply isn’t the case; with a standard black pressing of mainstream releases costing as much as £30 in the shops – despite the high quantities available.

As John Harris argued in his piece for The Guardian, the mainstream music business ought to be committing its resources to opening its own factories. Only then, will we see some kind of balance restored to an industry that seems “as addicted as ever to short-term windfalls and a grim cycle of boom and bust”.

And no, we’re not only looking at you Adele

Written by Enzo Van Baelen

The post ‘Record sales’, but is there trouble in vinyl paradise? appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>

https://future-sounds.uk/2024/01/09/record-sales-but-is-there-trouble-in-vinyl-paradise/feed/
4

1472

ECCO CHAMBER #08 – 2023 Albums of The Year [ feat. Simple Sauce, BarbWalters, Makeup and Vanity Set, Luxury Elite, desert sand feels warm at night, MidSpring Memories, Runners Club 95, OSC, YOUTH 83 & Eyeliner]

ECCO CHAMBER #08 – 2023 Albums of The Year [ feat. Simple Sauce, BarbWalters, Makeup and Vanity Set, Luxury Elite, desert sand feels warm at night, MidSpring Memories, Runners Club 95, OSC, YOUTH 83 & Eyeliner]

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 23:00:48 +0000

ECCO CHAMBER #08 – 2023 Albums of The Year [ feat. Simple Sauce, BarbWalters, Makeup and Vanity Set, Luxury Elite, desert sand feels warm at night, MidSpring Memories, Runners Club 95, OSC, YOUTH 83 & Eyeliner]

<![CDATA[

The FutureSounds staff writers conclude 2023 with their top album picks of the year.

The post ECCO CHAMBER #08 – 2023 Albums of The Year [ feat. Simple Sauce, BarbWalters, Makeup and Vanity Set, Luxury Elite, desert sand feels warm at night, MidSpring Memories, Runners Club 95, OSC, YOUTH 83 & Eyeliner] appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>
<![CDATA[

The FutureSounds staff writers conclude 2023 with their top album picks of the year.

Rob Dyson’s Picks

OSC – The Alpine Suite [Self-Release]

It’s not (necessarily) a reflection of this past troubled year, that this writer’s two picks of the best of 2023 are both from January — but my choices did set an incredible bar for instrumental electronica…

First up is an album of pure ambition, the masterpiece that is The Alpine Suite from OSC [released on physical by TimeSlave Recordings]. Intended as a series of movements in the tradition of a suite of classical compositions, it veers from glacial beauty to lounge jazz retrowave – with all the hallmarks of OSC’s constant personal evolution and the artistic challenges he sets himself. Recurring motifs and melodies flow in and out, changing slightly and rewarding the listener who doesn’t skip, pause or (gasp) would dare separate tracks into playlists. Split into four ‘movements’, mountainous and majestically themed. Snowcapped, Arête, Massif, and Interlocking Spurs evoke vast cold landscapes – but never stray far from the warmth of OSC’s masterful and playful brand of electronic experimentation and accomplished composition.

For me, this album personally and perfectly soundtracked a short ski break in the mountains of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and uniquely matched the breath-taking, alien-like, environment. I would recommend everyone immerse themselves in The Alpine Suite for pure escapism and to hear the work of a true artist who never stops experimenting.

The Alpine Suite by OSC

YOUTH 83 – Progress Way [Self-Release]

My second long player of choice is YOUTH 83’s Progress Way [self released]- which both complements and jars with OSC’s The Alpine Suite; like a dark and moody sibling. Standout track ‘Wave Rush’ is a wall of synthetic arpeggios and a foreboding, almost groaning, deep melody – evoking Ted Hughes’ iron man striding across a darkened countryside, edging towards an unsuspecting and hopeless human population.

Brooding. melancholic and reflective, Progress Way is part digital sci fi trancewave, part long country drive, and – for me – reflects the anxiety of 2023, but – makes it head-noddingly danceable in parts (a welcome respite). Crunchy, squelchy, big beat, and (somewhat) nightmarish. That’s a fair analogy of the year I guess.

Progress Way by YOUTH 83

*****

Enzo Van Baelen’s Picks

Luxury Elite – Fashion Pop [Self-Released]

Just when you think the Vaporwave scene could be about to shift into something sonically and experimentally unrecognisable from its origins, something reassuringly familiar comes along to remind you that the classic style still has legs.

‘fashion pop’ is classic Vaporwave in production, but gone are the lo-fi characteristics that underpin early classics in her canon, like ‘World Class’. Instead, this album marks a nostalgic shift for the artist that moves Luxury Elites’s production into an era of crystal clear, surround sound.

It might not be a new idea for Vaporwave to step out of the shadow of the 1980s, but ‘fashion pop’ makes the 90s feel like a brave new world.

Sadly, I’m one of the many fans who curse themselves everyday for not picking up a cassette from Pacific Plaza Records when they dropped in the Summer. Here’s hoping for a reissue…

fashion pop by luxury elite

Honorable mentions

We were lucky enough to book Lux for an incredible set at FlamingoFest late in late 2023. Having worked with her on a number of occasions, it was one of my personal highlights of the year to have the best seat in the house for her incendiary set at Catch One.

There are times when the hard, everyday routine of running a small label can be punishing. But moments like that make it all worthwhile, and that’s a memory I will cherish as long as I live. Hopefully we can all do it again next year.

Special mentions to Eyeliner and Runners Club 95, both of whom returned in 2023 with excellent LPs. And to the aforementioned Pacific Plaza who smashed it this year and also put out the excellent ‘[PlayStation] jungle.psx’ by US Golf and ‘The Great Escape’ by slowerpace 音楽, which is getting a vinyl release on MPF in 2024.

Makeup and Vanity Set – FM [Electric Dream Records]

For my Synthwave pick I’ve also gone for an album that feels like a stylistic and sonic throwback. In doing so, I’m not making a statement on the health of the scene. There’s plenty of exciting and experimental Synthwave out there.

I could easily have picked the 8-bit classic ‘Virtual Burnout’ by LukHash, which dropped in October. Or Duett’s slick collaboration with YATTE, ‘The Minute’; both of which stand strong after repeat listens.

Maybe it’s the passing of time, of nostalgic loops closing ever tighter. But for many of my peers, people who came through the ‘golden years’ of the genre, there’s just something magical about the classic Synthwave sound.

It’s something of an outlier dropping in 2023, but right off the mark, ‘FM’ makes me feel like I’m discovering Synthwave for the first time all over again.

A personal highlight is Blame it To The City, a collaboration with Mitch Murder with vocals by the aforementioned YATTE.

It could’ve been released a decade ago, but it feels as fresh as Outrun could ever sound.

FM by Makeup and Vanity Set

Honorable mentions

Whilst ‘FM’ (and 2022’s CJ Burnett album ‘Heat in the Streets) renewed my love of the classic Outrun sound, it didn’t stop there.

Look out for ‘Masters of Outrun’ in 2024; a retrospective collection of early and bona-fide Synthwave classics. The presentation by Glenn Jones is going to blow your minds (but I can’t say any more just yet!)

Honourable mentions also, for the Makeup and Vanity Set & Sferro collaboration ‘Wavefinder’ – a Datawave classic that sounds like Com Truise remixed Apex Twin. Vehlinggo’s interview with the Ohio pair is well worth a read!

And of course to Timecop 1983 whose output continues to disprove the law of diminishing returns; ‘Searching for Tomorrow’ is excellent from start to finish and will be available on vinyl via TimeSlave Recordings on the February Bandcamp Friday.

*****

Thom Hosken’s Picks

Eyeliner – brb [My Pet Flamingo]

It’s been a difficult year for musicians and music scenes with a continuing cost of living crisis and our means of promotion at the mercy of Marvel villains like Ek and Musk.

Despite this, I’ve been proud to plough on, helping to put on and play live shows, including the FutureSounds gigs North and South of the river and the Vaporwave events on both coasts of the USA. The Donor Lens tune ‘Turn The Fridge On’ (a breakcore track about lukewarm Cardiff beers) hitting a million streams on Spotify was a surreal milestone too. On the podcast front, I hosted and interviewed desert sand feels warm at night, Shirobon and XWaves at my home studio.

Musically, I really enjoyed digital fusion records from the likes of F ire-Toolz, Bart Graft and Eyeliner. Eyeliner’s brb is a composerly effort with a trademark sound palette, a playbox for its talented creator. It is an instrumental album with resurrected and rehabilitated 80s/90s workstation sounds suggesting beautiful worlds and stories. Should you want more personal context, Enzo’s interview with Eyeliner is an illuminating companion to this miniature MIDI masterpiece.

brb by Eyeliner

Runners Club 95 – Sponsored Content [My Pet Flamingo]

My final pick would be the long-awaited album from friends Runners Club 95 – Sponsored Content. This is probably their most experimental album in terms of styles covered, dipping into VGM on the track ‘c u ;)’, plus some anime piano moments and even a text-to-speech signalwave track that scratches a similar itch to Eyeclick’s recent 点击と LP, which I reviewed he re. It’s the pop banger ‘Serena’, featuring Maria on vocals that I enjoy most though. Seeing it live in LA was a real treat; a movie moment.

To come in 2024: a new Donor Lens album (finally!), more podcasts, more live shows, more projects, a documentary, some actual Vaporwave?!

It’s Spotify Wrapped season and Eyeclick have delivered an album that sounds like an entire streaming service’s catalogue playing at the same time.

Just as artists like Blank Banshee and Internet Club captured the spirit of web browsing a decade or so ago, the duo of Will Wade (Cucks) & Nathan Raile (Enraile, Millennium Edition) have created their own kind of smartphone pscyhedelia with their new album 点击と (I Click With My Eye), available on Pad Chennington’s Kats Kill Records.

点击と by

The word ‘browsing’ and the idea of websites now seem leisurely and quaint and Eyeclick have updated the aural experience for the app era. Tunes are cut short abruptly as if flicking through to the next Reel and notification pings interrupt without warning. The irritating and uncanny TikTok text-to-speech narrator even makes an appearance alongside other AI voices. There are some moments of extremely audacious sampling (the track ‘Satya तुम्हारे लिए Incense एक’ and its reprise use a pop A-lister’s 2001 anthem as its material) that befit Enraile’s mantra ‘copyright doesn’t exist – steal everything’.

This is the hardest fucking shirt in all of vaporwave @enraile pic.twitter.com/fwzJhFh3YZ

— Vaporspace StL (@VAPORSPACE_StL) August 3, 2023

These moments feel like a dare to copyright-detection algorithms, intellectual property hiding in plain sight like a Family Guy Funny Moments compilation surrounded by a Subway Surfers speedrun and a Pinkydoll ‘ice cream so good’ clip.

There are a few bangers of the kind we saw Eyeclick play at their recent NYC Tape Swap and LA Flamingofest shows. They have a real knack for transforming global pop songs into dancefloor smashes and I’m sure tracks like ‘Disgusting புலி (разлад)’ will be permanent fixtures in their sets. Even while working exclusively with samples, the duo’s Ableton chops are on show here with intricate edits, daring use of silence and departures from the 4/4 grid.

Generally however, the atmosphere is downtempo, reflective and sincere with plenty of slushed-out somnolence and moments of beauty and balladry in the mold of Death’s Dynamic Shroud’s ‘Just To Be Needed’. Eyeclick describe this record as being their love letter to vaporwave and this is clearly audible. Particularly lovely is the track ‘錫安山迦南地有機農場來新約教會受洗上天堂被提rapture ’ with its hopeful and naive lyric ‘Look for the rainbow in every storm / Fly like an angel’ turning from a banal inspirational Instagram quotation into something euphoric and rapturous as it repeats.

This album feels bittersweet as it is to be the last release from Pad’s KKR label. There will be a birthday/wake in the form of a URL show at 8pm EST on December 1st, featuring Luxury Elite, Christtt, Fire-Toolz, 식료품groceries alongside Eyeclick themselves. Slugfest 3.

Make sure to tune in to pay your respects and enjoy the premiere of the visual album that accompanies this release.

Thom Hosken

The post ????‍???????? – ????点击と???? Review [Kats Kill Records] appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>

https://future-sounds.uk/2023/12/01/%f0%9f%91%81%f0%9f%97%a8%f0%9f%93%b2-%f0%9f%91%81%e7%82%b9%e5%87%bb%e3%81%a8%f0%9f%91%81-review-kats-kill-records/feed/
1

1416

One to One with Eyeliner: back this week with a new album ‘brb’

One to One with Eyeliner: back this week with a new album ‘brb’

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 22:10:45 +0000

One to One with Eyeliner: back this week with a new album ‘brb’

<![CDATA[

Enzo caught up with Eyeliner during his daily commute, to talk to him about his new album – ‘brb’, his production techniques, and how he coped with lockdown in a new country… But also, to see if he could tempt him to wade into Vaporwave’s perpetual debate about sampling.

The post One to One with Eyeliner: back this week with a new album ‘brb’ appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>
<![CDATA[

Enzo caught up with Eyeliner during his daily commute, to talk to him about his new album – ‘brb’, his production techniques, and how he coped with lockdown in a new country… But also, to see if he could tempt him to wade into Vaporwave’s perpetual debate about sampling.

‘Eyeliner’ is the brainchild of Luke Rowell, who recently returned to New Zealand after a spell living in Hong Kong.

Not content with becoming a dad, switching continents, starting a new job and being inducted into the New Zealand National Library’s Archive… Eyeliner has managed to find time to work on new music; with an album – ‘brb’ – out this week on My Pet Flamingo.

The new LP features 13 new tracks and stunning artwork by mushbuh; the creative brains behind clothing/collectibles label – Item Label.

Eyeliner is no stranger to the Vaporwave scene, having released ‘High Fashion Mood Music’ back in 2012, and having worked with vapor-luminaries Beer on the Rug, Midwest Collective and Orange Milk Records.

As someone who’s been honing his craft for more than a decade in the scene, you’d think he’d be well placed to counter suggestions that ‘true’ Vaporwave needs to be sampled.

But first, I had to ask him about how the spectre of a global pandemic affected him personally and creatively.

“All I had over there (in Hong Kong) was time to myself. I moved countries right on the eve of the pandemic and spent two years, more-or-less, inside our apartment. I was freelancing with animation and I kept having jobs cancel on me – a lot of my income was producing visuals for live events.

“I also did a season of cartoon music for a kid’s TV show in New Zealand called The Vloggingtons and I did two big digital preservation projects with National Libraries NZ for two of my records, Eyeliner’s BUY NOW and Disasteradio’s Charisma – plus a remix album of BUY NOW with the material from the project.

“The new one came out a lot quicker and really isn’t built on older sketch ideas that I have saved up, it’s all new work that I wrote in HK. I definitely hermitted myself in, only really exploring outside in a very anonymous, observational fashion during Covid, and (as usual) expressing how that felt in the writing process helped me metabolize things.

“I also lost a few people dear to me at a time that I couldn’t return home because of travel restrictions, so there is a lot of self-reflection in (the album) about that.”

At the time of speaking he’s just about to have his first baby – now born, healthy and happy – with partner, Chloe, and moving back to New Zealand after a spell in Hong Kong has quite understandably come as something of an emotional relief.

“I moved from the most vertical city on earth to the flattest. Back to Aotearoa New Zealand, in farming country outside of Ōtautahi Christchurch.

“To have some personal space and outdoor space, and to finally see my family was a relief. We weren’t able to return home for two years because of the COVID quarantine lottery, so there is a kind of gag there with the title of the new album”.

‘brb’ – or Be Right Back’ is out this Saturday (11th November) at 5pm UK on My Pet Flamingo and he describes it as a “return to the snazziness of BUY NOW and the kind of fleeting ephemeral sense of LARP of Luxury”.

Drop Shadow was released in 2020, and Eyeliner has spent several years crafting the new album – making it something of a product of lockdown.

It’s an album that he wrote in Hong Kong, but which has recently been mixed and mastered in New Zealand; a process that has required working from memory – “from an impression I drew of Hong Kong”.

“The meaning of the record feels like it’s been crystallized and distilled via hindsight, which is sitting perfectly snug as part of the process.”

I ask him how that unique experience of living in a culturally distinct environment during a global pandemic affected the genesis of the album.

“Before I moved (there) I was making this music about luxuries, commerciality, whatever it is. But being embedded in the hyper metropolitan zones of HK made me loop back into those sensibilities in a very real way.

“Over there you see extremes of wealth and struggle. Both are very visible. What I came to value the most out there was this weird mix of anonymity plus a kind of embedded courtesy or care for each other that Hong Kongers seem to have. Like in the Subway nobody really cares who you are or what you’re doing, but nobody bumps into you.

“The streets are so busy but there was a real sense that everyone was looking out for each other, especially during COVID. I think it was also due to the atmosphere after the protests. I have a lot of adoration for those face-toface civic parts of big city life in HK. A real big-city vibe has made it into there, I think.

“Drop Shadow was more of a contemplative/cinematic and continuous album inspired by where I was at, at that time. But “brb” has been a bit more of a tilling back over, to rejuvenate those more original seeds of the albums previous to Drop Shadow… there is an ambient / psychedelic part which is a little dash of Drop Shadow too.”

From a conceptual point of view, it’s clear that ‘brb’ is a somewhat sarcastic jab at the COVID restrictions that stopped him and his partner from returning home for the best part of two years.

New Zealand’s quarantine system was via a “practically impossible lottery system” but with everything going on, he was happy to be ‘stuck’ in HK.

“I mostly did these urban hikes through Kowloon, to no particular place, and take the subway back home. Taking photographs of buildings and stopping at 7/11 for water and snacks.”

Details of the city, as experienced on these hikes, find their way into the album, as he explains:

“There’s a very architectural sense in a lot of the brass parts – which is a key sonic marker for the record; brass patches are all over it. With the brass there are a lot of staccato stabs, and for me that’s a reminder of the tall, thin rows of apartment blocks that are so common across all of HK.

“You can hear this in “Uptown Virtual”. If you look across either side of the harbour, there’s this kind of blocky timeline in the roof lines of all the skyscrapers. In my mind, there is a very evident formalism built into the record because of this.”

It doesn’t stop there. Every sonic second of this album appears to live and breathe the sights and sounds of Hong Kong.

“Music is folded in so neatly to city life in Hong Kong – there was also a lot of great in store music, at the supermarkets, in stores like Japan Home Centre and MUJI. Outside Kowloon’s independent gadget shops they would demo their battery powered speakers with a lot of great ’80s Cantopop and unhinged local pop dance stuff, which had the same hectic energy as hardstyle.

“The woolly sounds of those speakers combined with their flashing lights stuck with me, and I’ve tried to sit that idea into the album with a mellow, woolly midrange. There’s also a bit of love for Chinese New Year music; there’s a piece called “Good Evening” which mixes the sonics and harmonics of Chinese New Year music with elements of Chic.

“There was something in the back of my mind about British colonialism in HK, and what vestiges remain – I got hooked on a lot of ’80s British sophistipop over there. You know, Blow Monkeys, Sade, The Blue Nile, Style Council, that sort of thing. “Posh” stuff. Also, in the humid summer nights I listened to a lot of Haruomi Hosono’s album Tropical Dandy. His sensibilities and his twist on the musical language of exotica is super neat. I love him so much.”

It’s interesting to get his take on the perpetual debates around sampling in Vaporwave, not least because he’s been making it for the best part of a decade.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, given his production style, he gives short shrift to the notion that sample-free Vaporwave is any less valid than traditional approaches.

“Anyone making honorific judgements about a music not being sampled or not is playing a bad faith argument, we’re all dorks who have ruined our minds on the internet, all pointing at the same thing.”

It’s a fair point, and besides, I’ve yet to see anyone argue that Vaporwave NEEDS to move on from its roots in sampling. It’s a topic covered in detail by Thom from Donor Lens on this platform.

Surely there should be room for sample free productions if they lean into the same mood – or convey the same emotion and themes as traditional, ‘classic’ Vaporwave?

“I’m trying to make music which sounds like an artifact from another time and place. This play-acting/time travel thing I like to do with all my music projects is super fun. And I think a lot of Vaporwave producers – sampled or not – are trying to do this sort of thing. I feel like I can point at the same thing sampled Vaporwave artists are pointing at, but in my own way. Through accumulating points of reference, influences and techniques it could be argued that I’m still sampling.”

I put it to him that albums like James Ferraro’s ‘Far Side Virtual’ offer an alternative model for Vaporwave that is just a relevant to its progression as, say, ‘Floral Shoppe’.

“When I first heard the Computer Dreams record and early Ferraro – as well as Fatima Al Qadiri’s great GSX EP – I was hearing it all as a manifestation of what we called net art.

“It’s all the same thing to me. Personally, I like MIDI. In both process and concept I like being vague. And not being serious but being sincere.

“Far Side Virtual though, now there’s a very distinct and wonderful album still after ten plus years. It sounds simultaneously past and future, strophic and fleeting, child-like and violent, it’s so gorgeous. It’s a dark novelty record which belongs in the canon of American serialism.

“I think you can still lump that all together with the intention of sampled artists as well. Floral Shoppe has the same contradictions and moods. Chopped & Screwed belongs in the canon of American serialism. I mean, you look at Ramona’s other work from the same era; I’m thinking of Dream Castle – Tanning Salon. Maybe it’s because I saw this stuff emerge quite early on, but all these records fit together in my mind as an expression of the time and a prediction of the future.”

There’s no mistaking Vaporwave’s lineal heritage to the present, even if you might find people disagreeing over its totemic first statement: some hold Floral Shoppe to be the first true Vaporwave record, others trace its roots back to sunsetcorp’s ‘nobody here’; others even further back.

However, there’s plenty of ‘classic’ Vaporwave being made in 2022, along with a large number of artists circumnavigating copyright issues altogether. It’s a rich tapestry that’s augmented by a new wave of experimental producers like Enraile and [insert artist/s] that channel very different reference points.

A lot has changed in the decade or more that has passed since its inception.

“I love the scene these days. For me, I really love that a lot of the midi and instrumental artists are chatting together on Twitter”.

He cites FM Skyline, windows96, Donovan Hikaru, Donor Lens, Active Presence, Dan Mason, OSC, Stevia Sphere, among many others as prime examples of a trend towards instrumental compositions within the scene.

“It’s funny because I used to have a hard time describing the music I was making as Eyeliner, but to people in their twenties I can just go “it’s Vaporwave” and they know what I’m talking about, which is quite insane to think about – that the term has spread so far.

“I think the whole thing is evolving, which I love. I’m long in the tooth so the idea that a scene will evolve and change seems inevitable to me. I’ve seen Electroclash and Geocities come and go. What I’m worried about – as an internet music genre – is how we’ll survive whatever platform wars are coming with Facebook and Twitter about to implode. I mostly feel like it’ll be good in the end (I mean could this get any worse?) but these shifts are always quite precarious and laborious.”

Picture uploaded by 100% Electronica (via X)

With filming underway for the Nobody Here documentary – he’s being interviewed for it – and given his involvement in the scene for the best part of a decade, it’s interesting to hear Eyeliner’s thoughts on Vaporwave’s cultural significance, and the simple fact that on the surface at least it appears to be as popular as ever.

“It’s incredible – Vaporwave pushes forward and back through time. It is simultaneously something old and something new – and not, for me, in a nostalgic way. I was there for the ‘90s growing up, so for me it’s more the way it works with the idea of a past and the idea of a future, and of time itself.

“Also, it’s a very effortlessly executed triumph of postmodern art – the means of producing it have low entry barriers, it speaks a lot about itself and the nature of media itself, it reuses existing signifiers in a new way (something borrowed).

“And as it is centrally an internet genre, there is a very formalised visual conversation happening alongside it (something blue (& purple)). So, I still find the whole thing super interesting and a whole lot of fun to play with.”

We’re talking just days after the Nobody Here team returned from filming at Electronicon 3 in New York; a show that was attended by thousands of fans.

Add to that the fact that Pitchfork are about to team up with 100% Electronica to put on a big event in London (with George Clanton and DDS playing) and the success of Yung Bae’s recent US tour, and it seems a good time to talk about Vaporwave’s relationship with the mainstream.

It’s a subject of some debate within the community and there’s no doubt that the scale of 100% Electronica’s ‘Summer Camp’ in Brooklyn brought those tensions to the surface again, on Twitter at least.

I ask how significant the potential for growth is, and whether it’s a good thing for a scene that has very firm roots in the underground.

“I wouldn’t even consider anything that has gone on – whether live or released – mainstream by any sense of the word. Just look at how astronomically huge someone like Drake is in comparison.

“I don’t live in fear of this music losing authenticity or anything like that. I’m still genuinely shook that it eclipsed Seapunk AND Chillwave.

“What I think of when I consider mainstreaming is more the posts on that Reddit Vaporwave aesthetics group; and half of it is really bad Star Wars shirts at Target and yet another Roman bust on a canned IPA. Those are probably the guys making all the money in this equation.

“But yeah, in terms of shows, festivals, music releases… more’s the better.

Nobody is worse off for putting out a record or having a good time. I was at Electronicon 2 and the vibes were so cute. It was so cute to see such a big bunch of shy dorks finally together.”

I dig a little deeper, because it has been claimed – with good reason – that Vaporwave is (or was) a subversive artform. And by extension, surely flirtation with the mainstream could undermine that? After all, wasn’t Vaporwave supposed to be anti-corporate, anti-capitalist? (I’m playing devil’s advocate at this point).

“Show me which specific flirtation is happening and I’ll make the call. I think we can at least start from a base observation that Vaporwave is anti-capital in the respect that most artists are broke, have precarious living situations and (me included) have worked so hard on these records and tours that they have made themselves sick and burnt out. It’s wild that it is an accepted reality of being a music producer.”

[Or indeed of any self-employed person, you could argue. But that’s a wider discussion…]

“There’s a track on LARP Of Luxury called New Zealand. On that record, my central idea was that every song title on the record is a “brand name” – at that time we had a Prime Minister who was a former Merrill Lynch executive who made himself Minister of Tourism and orchestrated a deepening housing crisis… He was a real piece of shit.

“That track is really sad and sarcastic for me as I was entering my thirties with no assets and increasingly precarious living/renting situations.

“I think the nominal experience of being an artist in any domain is inherently anti-capitalist. The tech world treats artists like the industrial world treats the environment – just an externality and a source of free value. I think critiquing an artist for charging for records and selling merch isn’t a gotcha of any kind. The idea that you are producing something people will pay for actually solidifies the nature of the artist as a worker.”

I ask him about his production techniques, not least because to the lay person there is a practical – and interesting – difference between working in midi and working with audio.

One of the more obvious parallels to draw with Vaporwave is with the punk movement: it’s low barrier of entry, anti-establishment ethos, and DIY distribution model. Just like the early punk bands, who only needed a guitar and three chords, a Vaporwave producer can get started (so they say) with a laptop, cracked DAW and an internet connection.

You’d think Eyeliner, with his background, might be a little over qualified.

“I put it all together with software on a high-speed gaming PC, and I build the music note-by-note in sequencing software. I build the music digitally from scratch which means I have a form of complete control. This also means that any nuance and anything sounding vaguely realistic or played by hand is all done intentionally. Or anything that sounds strongly robotic is done intentionally.

“I use software recreations of early-to-mid 90s instruments and I approach the preset sounds in these as a dimension of found sound. I’m pretty jaded about synthesizer programming – I’ve been using synths for nearly 25 years, so the use of presets is a little bit of a game that I play with myself. If I’m pastiching or referencing a genre or musical movement, I have to learn those rules and that is also part of that game for me.

“I like to make records that take the listener on a little journey which values their time. And I fold in a lot of little paradoxes and winks to keep it interesting. Music is so important to me and I take so much joy in making it that it is central for me that the listener hopefully feels that too.”

Photo taken by Enzo, of one of the vinyl variants of ‘brb’

With the pandemic now starting to fade into recent memory, we are seeing a return to live events across the world. I ask him if there are any plans to perform live as Eyeliner again soon?

“I’m about to have my first kid and I don’t trust Aotearoa NZ’s heavily dumbass response to COVID, people are useless here with masking and coughing on each other, so I’m going to be woodshedding a bit here for sure. I don’t really feel like traveling locally.

“Having said that, a big part of the move to Hong Kong was being able to tour in Asia more, but with travel restrictions that got impossible pretty quickly. I am aching to play in Japan one day as there is so much music there that inspires me, from their experimental/noise scene to boogie/city pop and their contemporary dance music. Maybe once this kiddo of mine is out and about I’ll be able to get back to the US and Europe (especially via train) eventually!”

It’s perhaps the perfect place to end our chat, on a positive note. But it would be a waste not to ask Eyeliner for some tips on application…

“You can put it on while walking to work, in the office, even if you’re up late on an all-nighter. A few people have told me that they do that; just to focus.

“You could put it on when you’re driving, sipping a latte at the park, like pretty much anywhere. You could put it on to make friends. The rumours are so true, there is just a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ about Eyeliner.”

‘brb’ is out on My Pet Flamingo on November 11th on digital, cassette and vinyl.

Written by Enzo Van Baelen

The post One to One with Eyeliner: back this week with a new album ‘brb’ appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>

https://future-sounds.uk/2023/11/09/one-to-one-with-eyeliner-back-this-week-with-a-new-album-brb/feed/
0

617

VNN’s Vaporwave Best of 2023… So Far!

VNN’s Vaporwave Best of 2023… So Far!

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:47:05 +0000

VNN’s Vaporwave Best of 2023… So Far!

<![CDATA[

Hello readers out there in FutureSounds Land! I’m Alyx (aka TrucksPassingTrucks) and I run a podcast called Vaporwave News Network: a bi-weekly podcast about the contemporary Vaporwave Scene. We feature News, Reviews, History, and Current Trends as well as reporting on upcoming releases and events in the vaporwave, future funk and adjacent communities. I’m so […]

The post VNN’s Vaporwave Best of 2023… So Far! appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>
<![CDATA[

Hello readers out there in FutureSounds Land! I’m Alyx (aka TrucksPassingTrucks) and I run a podcast called Vaporwave News Network: a bi-weekly podcast about the contemporary Vaporwave Scene. We feature News, Reviews, History, and Current Trends as well as reporting on upcoming releases and events in the vaporwave, future funk and adjacent communities. I’m so stoked to collate some lists from our recent episode to share on FutureSounds! Enjoy yourself…

Recently on Vaporwave News Network, we asked some friends to help us search for the Top 5 Releases that have happened Thus Far in 2023. I reached out to a few curators and community members in the scene to get their picks including: Xnot (YouTube Curator), Quiz (Community Member/Discord Mod), BigBabyProfit (Curator/Vinyl DJ), FutureSounds Podcast Crew (the lads from this very website’s podcast), Nite Patrol (Future Funk DJ/FFVCG Mod) and some picks from myself, Alyx/TrucksPassingTrucks.

I know this is a bit late compared to most podcasts and writers in the indie-media-sphere, but with all the hustle and bustle around the Vaporwave Weekend in NYC, I think some mid-year stuff got lost in the shuffle. Personally, I I think some albums from the summer months got lost in the shuffle as well. So in the spirit of cosplaying as a taste-maker-cum-list-maker journalist, I’m going to share some lists from myself plus other curators and community members in the vaporwave scene! I made a big ole graphic sort-of in the style of the old Super Guides and Nu Guide from reddit, but you’ll have to scroll down to read everyone’s list…

If you want to get in on the action, there is a Google Form where people have weighed in on yer favorites from this year. Click on the LINK to respond.

I’ll be going over some of the audience favorites and sorting out some data for the next episode in October. Please No Reissues, only New 2023 Releases Please No Synthwave/Chillsynth, we do not cover that on the VNN Podcast

There’s a lot of fear and anger out there following the news of Songtradr’s acquisition of Bandcamp, and what it might mean for independent music.

As someone who runs a business that very much relies upon Bandcamp, I can admit that it is causing serious concern – not just for my labels, but for the many independent artists we’ve worked with over the years.

A quick scroll on your social media platform of choice quickly paints a picture of panic.

My entire livelihood is crumbling before my eyes

— Dan Mason ダン·メイソン (@DanMasonVapor) October 17, 2023

Bandcamp isn’t just a marketplace, like Amazon or eBay, it’s an eco-system. For underground, niche genres like Vaporwave and Synthwave it’s a vital hub. Fans build their collections and rely on the app, not just for everyday listening, but to connect directly with their favourite artists in a way that Spotify simply doesn’t offer.

It provides independent artists and labels with a chance to build an audience and customer base, and – crucially – it exists as one of the last refuges in the streaming era where you can make a modest living, whilst being creative, and where people can place a value on your art that’s worth more than a fraction of a penny. [F*** you, Spotify]

The uncertainty has led many people to fear for the future, not just for themselves, but for the communities that underpin these genres.

There’s also the personal human tragedy of the jobs that have been axed, and the fact that Epic/Songtradr appear to have completely disregarded Bandcamp’s union members in the process.

As today’s Pitchfork editorial suggests, “Songtradr’s opening moves don’t seem like the tactics of a company that understands what it has purchased”. And that’s a worry in and of itself.

All of the uncertainty creates a vacuum that gets filled with speculation – and a lot of posts marking the death of Bandcamp as we know it.

Bandcamp

2007-2023

— Tupperwave (@TUPPERWAVEMUSIC) October 17, 2023

For Dutch producer, 猫シ Corp., the lack of information is making things worse.

“We don’t know the whole story with what’s happening, so it’s impossible to give a balanced view. On the surface it looks like Bandcamp should be hugely profitable, but the way they’re acting it doesn’t seem that healthy.

“We have a saying in Dutch: “waar gehakt wordt vallen spaanders.”

“Basically it means, if you’re gonna chop wood you’re going to get splinters. And that’s not fun for anyone. And it’s not fair, but sadly, that’s what we are seeing with these job cuts.

“That’s not to justify what they are doing at all, but big business is brutal and their primary driver is going to be financial.”

The truth is that we don’t know what the future will hold.

The same pessimistic forecasts were made when Epic took over and, sure, maybe that was the first in a chain of events that led us to where we are today… but we don’t even really know what Songtradr want it for.

What it does though, is bring into sharp focus just how important a platform like Bandcamp is for niche genres like Vaporwave and Synthwave – both from an artistic perspective and from the point of view of a fan.

Take Synthwave producer, Makeup & Vanity Set, who argued on Twitter/X that the acquisition is part of a recent trend that has seen the devaluation of music to such an extent that “releasing music in the modern era is a disaster”.

He lays the blame “at the feet of the music business for caving [in] to a bunch of tech companies and handing the entire livelihood over to streaming companies.”

It’s certainly true that streaming revenues are derisory, with Bandcamp one of the remaining platforms where an independent artist can earn a reasonable amount for their creative output.

Bandcamp Fridays, where the site forgoes its share of revenue for 24 hours once a month, are worthy of a separate discussion altogether; on the one hand an artist’s notional revenue increases by 10%, but I’d love to see what a statistician made of the increased saturation we now endure on those days.

All that aside, there are good reasons why Bandcamp is much loved by artists.

For starters, it’s a hugely efficient marketing tool. The infrastructure’s a bit creaky, but the ‘passing trade’ that comes through purchases by genre tag is worth the entrance fee alone… (in my opinion).

In a newsletter published earlier this week, Vampire Step-Dad talked about the challenges artists already face getting heard above the ‘noise’.

“Music is meant to be an experience over time, and much of the internet is focused on super short attention grabbing images and videos”, he wrote.

It’s true that Social media platforms prioritise raw ‘content’ over creativity, making it harder than ever to get music in front of an audience – without stripping it down and serving it up in an algorithmically friendly way.

In that sense Bandcamp is – or at least was – an outlier.

“A lot of musicians are very nervous that the best means they have to sell their music to people that care will go away, and they’ll be stuck selling their music through megacorps like Apple, Google and Amazon.

“It goes without saying that those guys have little to no interest in independent musicians other than to boost the number of songs in their libraries.”

Vampire Step-Dad’s article highlights some interesting challenges ahead for artists heavily tied to Bandcamp as a means through to connect with an audience. But for fans, too, there are concerns about the future and how it will affect the way they interact with and discover new talent.

Rob Dyson, a former Forever Synth host and fellow editor of FutureSounds, argues that the new owners have a cultural responsibility to safeguard the platform:

“It’s depressing because Bandcamp has always meant a direct line into – and an immediate and meaningful way of supporting – the artists I want to grow.

“As one of the few revenue-generating streaming options, not to mention because of the hundreds of albums I have personally accumulated in my Bandcamp collection, if Bandcamp were to collapse I would feel the new owners have failed me; as a music lover, customer, and promoter of smaller artists.”

There will, no doubt, be some purists who feel that the Vaporwave scene was never the same once ‘monetisation’ started creeping in with the Bandcamp era, unleashing the increasing prevalence of physical merch sales.

But the problem with the old days of free sharing via mediafire and other similar sites, is that it relied on a healthy network of community groups and networks on social media platforms like Facebook.

And guess what? A handful of other billionaire idiots have pretty much ruined them too…

Where are all the benevolent billionaires when you need them?

And more importantly, where do we go from here?

Are we right to existentially fear for the very future of Bandcamp – or should our energy just be focused on the human consequence of the jobs that have been lost since the acquisition took place?

I’m f***ed if I know, which I know isn’t particularly insightful or helpful, but Pitchfork’s editorial today appears to suggest that the solution is to build alternatives; “a host of competitors, a vibrant ecosystem to diversify the market and encourage innovations that will improve the current situation for artists, labels, and fans alike.”

It sounds good in theory, but not everyone agrees.

Occams Laser, a UK-based Darksynth artist, thinks that cool heads are called for and I can understand where he’s coming from.

No-one would benefit from the streaming equivalent of a ‘run on the pound’.

If Bandcamp’s users were to pull out in significant numbers, we might inadvertently hasten its demise.

Occams Laser:

“Right now everyone who uses Bandcamp is feeling uneasy. Other media outlets (like Pitchfork) are catalysing that fear and amplifying it; suggesting things that will actually make the situation worse, such as jumping ship and actively not using Bandcamp…

“For a number of reasons, this is stupid. If, as an artist or fan, you love Bandcamp then treat it as business as usual. Songtradr bought Bandcamp because it is a profitable business. The cuts they have made are clearly not to everyone’s liking but they have not cut the core thing… the artists and fans.

“There have been cuts to the editorial staff, it’s true, but as far as I can gather it was cut from 5 members to 3… and those editorial staff were supposed to cover the MILLIONS of artists on Bandcamp.

“It’s worth remembering that WE are what continues to make Bandcamp work, as both a community and platform for music.”

It’s certainly true that some Vaporwave labels, like Hiraeth and Aloe City Wrld, have already migrated away from selling physical copies of their albums on Bandcamp, some of which point to the 10% cut they take on physical items sold on the platform.

In addition to that, Epic’s takeover of the site last year led many people to fear that Bandcamp might start to take a more aggressive approach to unlicensed sampling, which clearly affects Vaporwave as a whole more than other independent scenes.

Whilst not directly linked to the changing ownership of Bandcamp, that’s one of the reasons that many artists in the scene started to work on sample-free music.

For 猫シ Corp., who runs Hiraeth, there are a number of factors that led him to establish his own website to host merch sales, but he’s very unlikely to leave Bandcamp fully because it’s probably still “the best marketing tool money can buy”.

I asked him if he had a message for the site’s new owners.

“Just don’t f*** it up. Please keep it what it’s always been, a site for music and for artists and fans.

“I really do believe that the team that started Bandcamp did so with the best intentions, and they had a mission that’s being destroyed by these big businesses that have come along in recent years.

“Ultimately, though, if the situation is unsustainable in its current form then I really hope they can fix it because Bandcamp is vital in so many ways.”

I’m eternally optimistic by nature, and so I’m reluctant to make fatalistic predictions about the future of Bandcamp, even if I understand why people feel so uneasy about recent developments.

Like many others, I dreaded Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, and the results have been pretty catastrophic; including polluted feeds, and piss-poor engagement if you don’t pay for the blue tick. But the alternatives which have sprung up in the short term don’t necessarily hold the answers either, with one of the servers on Mastodon that was set up to host the Synthwave community recently announcing that it will have to close later this year because of the costs involved.

That’s why I won’t be jumping ship just yet.

That said, it’s been suggested elsewhere that artists and labels should urgently download their email lists and sales reports, which is a smart move regardless. Plus, there are dedicated browser extensions that can make batch downloading your collections easier, so there’s no harm in doing that either if you’ve got the storage space.

The bottom line is that as a scene we have to plan for the possibility that things are going to change, but in some respects I think we’ve known that for a long time.

Oh yeah, and all hope for the best…

Written by Enzo Van Baelen

The post Hang on, did Songtradr just kill Bandcamp? appeared first on future-sounds.co.uk.

]]>

https://future-sounds.uk/2023/10/18/hang-on-did-songtradr-just-kill-bandcamp/feed/
0

1382

Article Removal – Click Here
All Things Z-GR – Click Here
Zero-G Racetrack – Access Here
Source – https://www.pfsynth.com/?feed=rss2

future-sounds.co.uk

A year on from its release, US Golf 95’s [PlayStation] jungle.psx album gets the platinum reissue treatment. We caught up briefly with the Scottish producer in advance of its re-release, which sees 50 cassettes available with a fresh new design from Pacific Plaza Records.

This month, Future Sounds team member, Rob, sat down with a solid stalwart of the retrowave scene, London UK based, Duett. With releases reaching back a decade, and over a dozen long players and EPs in his catalogue, Duett’s place in the annals of synthwave is secured.

The recent resurgence in vinyl production has been great news for indie labels and fans, but there are signs that there might be trouble in vinyl paradise…

‘The Holy Grail’

‘Harder for smaller artists to break through’

‘Record levels of production – and yet record costs!’

‘Huge upfront costs’

So, how do these issues affect us at MPF or TimeSlave?

‘Future-proofing‘

It’s Spotify Wrapped season and Eyeclick have delivered an album that sounds like an entire streaming service’s catalogue playing at the same time.

Enzo caught up with Eyeliner during his daily commute, to talk to him about his new album – ‘brb’, his production techniques, and how he coped with lockdown in a new country… But also, to see if he could tempt him to wade into Vaporwave’s perpetual debate about sampling.

VNN (Alyx/TrucksPassing Trucks)

Xnot

Quiz

BigBabyProfit

FutureSounds Picks

There’s a lot of fear and anger out there following the news of Songtradr’s acquisition of Bandcamp, and what it might mean for independent music.