Dreampunk

Last updated

Dreampunk is a microgenre of electronic music characterized by its focus on cinematic ambience and field recordings, combined with various traits and techniques from electronic genres such as techno, jungle, electro, and dubstep.

Contents

History

Dreampunk emerged in the mid-2010s. Many early dreampunk artists drew influence from film scores, [2] vaporwave, [3] and drum and bass. [4] Dreampunk originates from the debut of 2814, the ambient duo composed of Luke Laurila ( t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 ) and David Russo (Hong Kong Express). [5] The name is derived from the word cyberpunk because of its frequent use of imagined metropolitan spaces in its sound design, evoking the experience of walking through a futuristic city. [6]

Origins

Dreampunk initially began on January 29, 2014, when British musician David Russo launched the Dream Catalogue label, which specialized in vaporwave and "dream music" (the forename to dreampunk). Inspired by the films of Wong Kar-Wai, Russo explored dreamlike ambient music under the name Hong Kong Express. [4] After befriending American vaporwave producer Luke Laurila (t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者), the two swiftly released solo albums on Dream Catalogue, across many anonymous aliases. [6] [7] In October 2014, Russo and Laurila formed a collaborative project, 2814, a duo which would garner praise from critics and internet users alike. [8] [9] [10] In 2015, Vice published an article commending 2814's second cyberpunk ambient vaporwave album, 新しい日の誕生 (Birth of a New Day), calling it a "slip into a world of neon and rain, mist and memory". [11] Drifting from their predecessors, 2814 were steadfast about not using samples, which contrasted the mindset of the label's other musicians, like 猫 シ Corp, Death’s Dynamic Shroud, Nmesh, and Vaperror. [12] Despite their success on Bandcamp, Russo purged Dream Catalogue of many of its sampled albums to avoid copyright disputes and focus on his self-described "dream music". [13] [14] The schism between dreampunk and vaporwave was described by Russo as "the whole dream music vibe is certainly fluid enough to encompass lots of different musical styles, while still retaining certain elements that make the label stand out as a whole—surreality, futurism, heavy concepts and story-driven projects, while vaporwave as a term and an idea has become something of a burden to everyone involved with it." [15] From 2016 until 2018, Russo and a new wave of artists at Dream Catalogue largely focused on wosX's tongue-in-cheek hardvapour style [1] [7] and the short-lived ghost tech style, [16] giving way for other labels to lead the dreampunk movement.

Early scene

The early years of dreampunk revolved around various netlabels, which were the focal point of the community. With the adoption of Twitter messaging, net radio shows, and livestreamed festivals like SPF420, [17] the newly formed group of artists were quick to connect with one another and subsequently release albums on each other's labels.

One of dreampunk's earliest proprietors was No Problema Tapes, the cassette oriented label run by Pablo Salas and Gonzalo Silva. [18] [19] The label had early ties to vaporwave and drone music, but would eventually expand into the realm of dreampunk, releasing albums from some of the community’s earliest artists (including Sangam, Renjā, and Origami Girl). [20] On October 17, 2020, Remezcla reported that No Problema Tapes’s headquarters had completely burned down. [21] The label was able to resume operations with the help of a fundraiser, compilation album, and by outsourcing tape production to Canada’s New Motion label.

Following dreampunk's emergence on labels like Dream Catalogue, No Problema Tapes, BLCR Laboratories, House of the Leg, Virtual Dream Plaza, [22] among others, artists from across the internet began using the term "dreampunk" interchangeably with "dream music". [23] During this time, producers such as Remember, CHUNGKING MANSIONS, KAGAMI Smile, [24] and THUGWIDOW [25] brought darker cinematic styles to the genre.

In a period of growth, dreampunk artists such as 輕描淡寫 (QMDX) and Sangam were featured alongside Disasterpeace and Merzbow on the now-defunct label, BLUDHONEY RECORDS. [26] [27] In its prime, BLUDHONEY's focus on vinyl and cassettes brought a professional edge to the grassroots movement. Without warning, BLUDHONEY shut down in 2018. [28] Some artists affected by the closure include Rashida Prime, QMDX, and the duo Kuroi Ame. These artists opted to release records on VILL4IN. They would then switch over to Kuroi Ame's PURE LIFE ЧЖ label, which released its first album in September 2018.

The term dreampunk was fully adopted by the community following w u s o 命’s video essay, Dreampunk: The Soundtrack To Dreams, [29] where he analyzed the history and stylistic features of the genre. In the late 2010s, glitch art became a prominent aesthetic for album covers, music videos, and visual albums, as was seen on emerging labels such as PURE LIFE ЧЖ and VILL4IN. During the worldwide COVID-19 lockdown, the genre experienced a resurgence in virtual music festivals, including performances by Livewire, PURE LIVE, and Enter The Void. [30]

Musical characteristics

Dreampunk primarily draws from sounds of the city, [31] science fiction, [15] [32] surrealism, [30] loneliness, [31] love, [33] and dreams. [4] Musicians such as Vangelis, [23] Burial, [3] and Aphex Twin, as well as East Asian cinema [15] and anime, [2] are common inspirations within dreampunk.

Rain is a frequent field recording choice, often used as a callback to the ambience of future-noir film Blade Runner which focuses on palpable atmosphere and worldbuilding rather than plot or action. [34] [12] This concentration on atmosphere gives the music an immersive and dreamlike quality. This quality is further heightened by the frequent use of cassette tapes in recording and distribution.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anri</span> Japanese singer-songwriter

Eiko Kawashima, better known as Anri (杏里), is a Japanese singer-songwriter from Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RRRecords</span> American record label

RRRecords is a record label and used- and new-record shop based in Lowell, Massachusetts. RRRecords was the first American record label to publish underground "noise music" in the early 1980s as well as publishing the first American vinyl by Merzbow, Masonna, Hanatarash, Violent Onsen Geisha, and various other artists. In its first twenty years, the label issued hundreds of releases. RRR's owner, Ron Lessard, is a supporter of new artists who has created several sub-labels and series to specifically highlight unknown and underground musicians.

<i>Rock Dream</i> 2007 live album by Boris with Merzbow

Rock Dream is a collaborative live album between Japanese band Boris and Japan noise musician Merzbow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petri Nygård</span> Finnish rapper

Petri Jukka Mikael Laurila, better known by his stage name Petri Nygård, is a Finnish rapper. He is also known under alias Dream and as Travis Bicle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Ferraro</span> American musician (born 1986)

James Ferraro is an American experimental musician, producer, composer and contemporary artist. He has been credited as a pioneer of the 21st century genres hypnagogic pop and vaporwave, with his work exploring themes related to hyperreality and consumer culture. His music has drawn on diverse styles such as 1980s electronic music, easy listening, drone, lo-fi, sound collage, and R&B.

<i>Far Side Virtual</i> 2011 studio album by James Ferraro

Far Side Virtual is a studio album by American electronic musician James Ferraro, released on October 25, 2011 by Hippos in Tanks. Conceived as a series of ringtones, the album marked Ferraro's transition from his previous lo-fi recording approach to a sharply produced, electronic aesthetic that deliberately evokes sources such as elevator music, corporate mood music, easy listening, and early computer sound design. The album has been interpreted as engaging with themes such as hyperreality, disposable consumer culture, 1990s retrofuturism, advertising, and musical kitsch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaporwave</span> Online musical genre and visual aesthetic

Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music and a subgenre of hauntology, a visual art style, and an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s, and became well-known in 2015. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, 1970s elevator music, R&B, and lounge music from the 1980s and 1990s. The surrounding subculture is sometimes associated with an ambiguous or satirical take on consumer capitalism and pop culture, and tends to be characterized by a nostalgic or surrealist engagement with the popular entertainment, technology and advertising of previous decades. Visually, it incorporates early Internet imagery, late 1990s web design, glitch art, anime, stylized Greek sculptures, 3D-rendered objects, and cyberpunk tropes in its cover artwork and music videos.

Ramona Andra Langley is an American electronic musician from Portland, Oregon. She has released music under her primary Vektroid alias, as well as others, such as dstnt, Laserdisc Visions, New Dreams Ltd., Virtual Information Desk, and PrismCorp Virtual Enterprises. Langley played a prominent role in the popularization of the vaporwave subgenre with the release of her ninth studio album, Floral Shoppe, under the alias Macintosh Plus. The album helped popularize the vaporwave genre throughout the Internet. Since then, she has continued to release music through Bandcamp and other online platforms.

<i>Floral Shoppe</i> 2011 studio album by Macintosh Plus

Floral Shoppe is the ninth studio album by the American electronic musician Ramona Andra Langley under the alias Macintosh Plus, released on December 9, 2011 by the independent record label Beer on the Rug. It was one of the first releases of the 2010s microgenre known as vaporwave to gain popular recognition on the Internet. Since then, Floral Shoppe has been considered by some critics to be the defining album of the style.

<i>Chuck Persons Eccojams Vol. 1</i> 2010 album by Daniel Lopatin

Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1 is a 2010 album of remixes by American electronic musician Daniel Lopatin under the pseudonym Chuck Person. Its tracks consist of chopped, looped samples of various songs—including popular songs from the 1980s and 1990s—processed with effects such as delay, reverb, and pitch shifting; the results highlight mournful or existential moments from the sources. It was used as an initial template for the vaporwave internet microgenre.

<i>New Dreams Ltd.</i> 2011 studio album by Laserdisc Visions

New Dreams Ltd. is the third studio album by American electronic musician Vektroid under the alias Laserdisc Visions released on July 1, 2011. The album is an early example of the genre vaporwave.

2814 is an English-American collaborative ambient and vaporwave project of the electronic musicians Luke Laurila and David Russo, also known as Telepath and HKE, respectively. The duo is best known for its second album, Birth of a New Day (新しい日の誕生), described by Rolling Stone as "a late night cruise through the cyber-future dream highway."

<i>Birth of a New Day</i> 2015 studio album by 2814

Birth of a New Day is the second studio album by English-American electronic music duo of dreampunk producers David Russo and Luke Laurila or Telepath, both collaborating under the alias 2814. It was released on January 21, 2015 by HKE's record label Dream Catalogue. With the popularity of vaporwave in the early to mid-2010s, the duo experimented with the genre by not using any form of samples to compose the album, thus becoming notable for being one of the first vaporwave releases not to include such production techniques. 2814 stated that they wanted it to "have a strong sense of place"; its themes reflect the dark worldviews of HKE.

<i>Blank Banshee 0</i> 2012 studio album by Blank Banshee

Blank Banshee 0 is the debut studio album by Canadian artist and producer Blank Banshee. It was released for free via Bandcamp on September 1, 2012.

Hardvapour is an Internet-based microgenre of music that emerged in late 2015 as a tongue-in-cheek response to vaporwave, departing from the calm, muzak-sampling capitalist utopia concept of the latter in favor of a gabber- and punk-influenced sound. Canadian music producer Wolfenstein OS X album End of World Rave (2015) and the Antifur record label are credited with having first defined the hardvapour sound.

<i>Rain Temple</i> 2016 studio album by 2814

Rain Temple is the third studio album by English-American electronic music duo of dreampunk musicians Hong Kong Express and Telepath, both collaborating under the alias 2814, released on July 26, 2016, by their record label Dream Catalogue. After the success of Birth of a New Day, one of the members stated that he wanted to "leave 2814 to rest", but he couldn't as he states that the project "just works so well for us both."

Jornt Elzinga, commonly known as Cat System Corp., is a Dutch musician regarded as a vaporwave figure that originated the mallsoft subgenre. He also previously recorded as Mesektet for his dark ambient releases.

<i>News at 11</i> (album) 2016 studio album by Cat System Corp.

News at 11 is the fourteenth studio album by Cat System Corp., the alias of Dutch electronic musician Jornt Elzinga. Released on September 11, 2016, it samples smooth jazz songs and excerpts from TV talk shows and commercials as a tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks. Inspired by a vaporwave mix featuring a picture of the burning Twin Towers, Elzinga produced News at 11 as a portrayal of "a parallel universe where it never happened." Initially intended to be a Weather Channel-themed release, the album was produced over the course of nine months, and drew comparisons to the themes of author Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation (2018).

Luxury Elite is an anonymous American musician known for her significant influence in the vaporwave genre. During the 2010s, her lo-fi sound and visual style, along with her relaxed melodies, made her an impactful figure in the "late night lo-fi" subgenre. She also produced music under the aliases 1-800-TONIGHT, night video, and television archives.

Luke Laurila, better known as Telepath, is an American musician notable for his considerable impact within the vaporwave scene. During the mid-2010s, his ambient sound and dream-like presentation turned him into the main originator of the slushwave subgenre. He also released albums under the alias Virtual Dream Plaza, and his current music is under the pseudonym Tianhuojian.

References

  1. 1 2 Broomfield, Matt (28 April 2016). "Inside 'Hardvapour', the internet's latest microgenre". Dazed.
  2. 1 2 "Interview: Hong Kong Express - 2814". NEONVICE. 21 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 Monster, C (15 October 2015). "Dream Catalogue (HKE, ２８１４) "I think '2 8 1 4' might be the number on the door of a hotel room in the year 2084, rather than the year. It's open to interpretation."". Tiny Mix Tapes.
  4. 1 2 3 Thomas, Russell (8 September 2014). "Interview: Dream Catalogue's Hong Kong Express on Vaporwave's Past, Present, and Future". Red Bull Music Academy.
  5. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher R. (25 November 2015). "10 New Artists You Need to Know: November 2015". Rolling Stone.
  6. 1 2 Liu, Nelson (9 May 2016). "Upfront Dream Catalogue". Boiler Room.
  7. 1 2 Towlyn, Christopher (15 August 2016). "Vapour Dreams: An Interview With HKE Of Dream Catalogue And 2814". Neon Dystopia. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  8. ↑ James, David (31 October 2015). "2 8 1 4 – 新しい日の誕生". Optimistic Underground.
  9. ↑ "2 8 1 4 :: 新しい日の誕生 (Dream Catalogue)". Igloo Magazine. SMARTBOMB. 24 April 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2020. 新しい日の誕生 (Birth of a New Day) has rapidly become known not only as one of the best albums in its field, [...].
  10. ↑ C Monster. "２８１４ – 新しい日の誕生". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  11. ↑ THUMP Staff (9 September 2015). "Prepare to Get Deliriously Dreamy with Vaporwave Sensation 2814's "Shinjitsu no Koi"". Vice.
  12. 1 2 O'Neal, Sean (29 November 2016). "Vaporwave is no longer a joke on 2814's Rain Temple". A.V. Club.
  13. ↑ "Dream Catalogue releases "Album Title Removed" by Artist Name Removed". Sunbleach. 6 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Ryce, Andrew (27 July 2017). "Label of the month: Dream Catalogue". ra.co.
  15. 1 2 3 Marcel (2016). "Interview: Dream Catalogue founder HKE". MMJ.
  16. ↑ "& Options releases "Last Week" by CULT MEMBER". Sunbleach. 21 June 2018.
  17. ↑ Moen, Matt (15 April 2020). "Livestream This: SPF420 Fest". PAPER MAG.
  18. ↑ Alarcón, Rodrigo (7 August 2015). "Under Construction: No Problem Tapes". POTQ.
  19. ↑ Banas, Graham (4 March 2021). "NO PROBLEMA TAPES ANNOUNCES NEXT GROUP OF RELEASES". Utopia District.
  20. ↑ Parker, Brian (28 May 2019). "Plastic Dreams: An Interview with Pablo Salas of No Problema Tapes". Plastic Dreams.
  21. ↑ Hassan, Marcos (20 October 2020). "Help Chilean Experimental Label No Problema Tapes Get Back On Their Feet". Remezcla.
  22. ↑ Morehead, Jason (16 September 2020). "Voyage / Embrace by 2814 (Review)". Opus Zine.
  23. 1 2 Chester (24 May 2016). "DREAMPUNK & FUTURE BEATS: An introduction to dream music". TZEEEAC.
  24. ↑ Kadir, Chanel (17 March 2021). "Premiere: Kagami Smile – Non-Disclosure Reverb Lake [Kudatah]". Untitled 909.
  25. ↑ "Albums That Made Our 2018 Brighter". Secret Thirteen. 4 February 2019.
  26. ↑ Ortiz, Luis (8 July 2016). "Hyper Light Drifter Soundtrack Features Incredible Cassette Edition". Missing Number.
  27. ↑ "Merzbow's legendary Pulse Demon finally gets a vinyl reissue… and sells out immediately". Japan Vibe. 12 May 2018.
  28. ↑ Martin-Schultz, Sebastien (29 September 2020). "Bludhoney Records: The Disappearance of Music's Most Innovative Label". YouTube .
  29. ↑ Russo, David (23 May 2020). "THE STATEMENT ON THE FUTURE OF DREAM CATALOGUE AND THE DREAMPUNK SCENE". 7774life.
  30. 1 2 Daly, Andrew (11 April 2021). "An Interview with David Russo AKA HKE". Vinyl Writer Music.
  31. 1 2 Maher, Michael (7 October 2021). "Reimagining Iconic Artwork for NFT Collectors". Maxon.
  32. ↑ Iglesias, Pablo (18 December 2017). "Bludhoney Records". God Is A Glitch. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  33. ↑ Laurila, Luke (2017). "Virtual Dream Plaza Info". Virtual Dream Plaza.
  34. ↑ O'Neal, Sean (6 October 2017). "Beats, rhymes, and replicants: El-P, Gary Numan, and more on Blade Runner's musical influence". A.V. Club.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.