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🎶
i know, i know.. you’re probably saying to yourself “vaporwave?! that’s certainly gotta be dead these days”, and yeah, i’d agree with you for the most part, but as a certified easy listening megafan and early adopter of the genre (i tried my hand at making a few very bad vaporwave tracks in 2013) i’m here to tell you the slowed-down, chopped-up, smooth eighties instrumentals are still hitting 12 years after the genre’s inception.
i recently discovered the vaporwave musician vcr-classique who uploaded all of their albums onto spotify last year and i’m thoroughly enjoying my time with them. i recommend the albums vidéo boutique, collection dautomne, and virtual metropolis, however all of them have at least a few gems sprinkled within their hazy retro soundscapes. i especially find it to be the perfect soundtrack for browsing pi.fyi. considering this platform’s old-internet feel with a modern twist, vaporwave makes the perfect pairing. 🥂
i recently discovered the vaporwave musician vcr-classique who uploaded all of their albums onto spotify last year and i’m thoroughly enjoying my time with them. i recommend the albums vidéo boutique, collection dautomne, and virtual metropolis, however all of them have at least a few gems sprinkled within their hazy retro soundscapes. i especially find it to be the perfect soundtrack for browsing pi.fyi. considering this platform’s old-internet feel with a modern twist, vaporwave makes the perfect pairing. 🥂
Jan 19, 2025
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Do you happen to have a vaporwave playlist? I actually love this genre
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imagine the sound of early 2000s Japanese tech commercials —
polished, slow-motion shots of cellphones spinning midair, ambient synths playing over translucent interfaces, a clean digital world full of artificial calm.
that’s where "PurData" lives.
born in some facebook groups between 2017–2018, it didn’t start as a genre — it emerged as a mood. ppl began tagging certain tracks that felt like lost soundtracks for futuristic devices: synthetic but emotional, nostalgic but unplaceable. music that could play on the home screen of a PlayStation 2, or during the boot sequence of a dream you forgot.
and no, it’s not vaporwave lol. PurData isn’t ironic or consumerist — it’s tender, high-res, and full of emotional architecture. its roots are in Japanese video game soundtracks, ambient music, and old tech aesthetics that felt utopian, not decayed.
the artist who crystallized this language is DV-i — her visual + sonic work feels like interactive dreams from another OS. but she’s part of a constellation: Yesterdayneverhappened (who played on my radio show here in Brazil — his whole discography drips with PurData textures), ViRiX Dreamcore, UNIT KAI, NOLANBEROLLIN — each building sound worlds of translucent synths, gentle glitches and emotional stillness.
it also carries the DNA of: — Joe Hisaishi’s Ghibli soundtracks, — the ambient spirituality of Susumu Yokota, — Boogiepop Phantom’s eerie calm, — the surreal beauty of LSD: Dream Emulator, — ghostly ad loops like Ancetantina’s tapes, — and the sonic melancholy of Final Fantasy,Phantasy Star Online, Ghost in the Shell, and Love-de-Lic games.
rhythmically, it’s connected to Soichi Terada, Koji Nakagawa, and Studio Pressure, where jazz fusion meets breakbeat, trip-hop, jungle, dnb and synthetic longing.
some of it works on the dancefloor — soft, glitched, emotionally encrypted. but most of it feels like ambient music for a city inside a mainframe. music that opens like a file you didn’t know you missed.
🧬 I wrote a full deep dive on this digital microgenre — its roots, its references, its feeling. 👉 https://poliedral.substack.com/p/arqueologia-digital-purdata-ep02
I also left a link attached to this post to a great playlist on Spotify curated by me.
if you’re into soft futurism, synthetic nostalgia, ambient game scores and delicate internet ruins — follow my Substack called Poliedral. I write about glitch aesthetics (in Portuguese but it is easy to translate the page) , forgotten formats, and music that remembers. 💿🌫️🌐
born in some facebook groups between 2017–2018, it didn’t start as a genre — it emerged as a mood. ppl began tagging certain tracks that felt like lost soundtracks for futuristic devices: synthetic but emotional, nostalgic but unplaceable. music that could play on the home screen of a PlayStation 2, or during the boot sequence of a dream you forgot.
and no, it’s not vaporwave lol. PurData isn’t ironic or consumerist — it’s tender, high-res, and full of emotional architecture. its roots are in Japanese video game soundtracks, ambient music, and old tech aesthetics that felt utopian, not decayed.
the artist who crystallized this language is DV-i — her visual + sonic work feels like interactive dreams from another OS. but she’s part of a constellation: Yesterdayneverhappened (who played on my radio show here in Brazil — his whole discography drips with PurData textures), ViRiX Dreamcore, UNIT KAI, NOLANBEROLLIN — each building sound worlds of translucent synths, gentle glitches and emotional stillness.
it also carries the DNA of: — Joe Hisaishi’s Ghibli soundtracks, — the ambient spirituality of Susumu Yokota, — Boogiepop Phantom’s eerie calm, — the surreal beauty of LSD: Dream Emulator, — ghostly ad loops like Ancetantina’s tapes, — and the sonic melancholy of Final Fantasy,Phantasy Star Online, Ghost in the Shell, and Love-de-Lic games.
rhythmically, it’s connected to Soichi Terada, Koji Nakagawa, and Studio Pressure, where jazz fusion meets breakbeat, trip-hop, jungle, dnb and synthetic longing.
some of it works on the dancefloor — soft, glitched, emotionally encrypted. but most of it feels like ambient music for a city inside a mainframe. music that opens like a file you didn’t know you missed.
🧬 I wrote a full deep dive on this digital microgenre — its roots, its references, its feeling. 👉 https://poliedral.substack.com/p/arqueologia-digital-purdata-ep02
I also left a link attached to this post to a great playlist on Spotify curated by me.
if you’re into soft futurism, synthetic nostalgia, ambient game scores and delicate internet ruins — follow my Substack called Poliedral. I write about glitch aesthetics (in Portuguese but it is easy to translate the page) , forgotten formats, and music that remembers. 💿🌫️🌐
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well, i'm just a sucker for synthwave, and very, very, much enjoy this new release from tom. <3 goes well with browsing are.na late at night when you should really go to bed.
Mar 18, 2025
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🆒A masterpiece all together - the album.
My fave track: New Machines
"This just makes me feel floating with oxygen in space"
"this song gives me 2 emotions that don't even exist"
"This make me happy and sad at same time"
Randy Goffe, known professionally as HOME, is a Synthwave/Chillwave music producer from Punta Gorda, Florida, USA who now lives in Chicago.[1] HOME's music is influenced by 70's and 80's music, layered with a bit of Chiptune and Chillsynth. He is often regarded as the creator of chillsynth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVDgWUwowLY&list=PLKpH9TsJs6VLqp2I259RtVAi803qk8pCU&index=8
Randy Goffe, known professionally as HOME, is a Synthwave/Chillwave music producer from Punta Gorda, Florida, USA who now lives in Chicago.[1] HOME's music is influenced by 70's and 80's music, layered with a bit of Chiptune and Chillsynth. He is often regarded as the creator of chillsynth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVDgWUwowLY&list=PLKpH9TsJs6VLqp2I259RtVAi803qk8pCU&index=8
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“everyday, once a day, give yourself a present. don’t plan it, don’t wait for it. just let it happen. it could be a new shirt at the men’s store. a catnap in your office chair. or two cups of good, hot black coffee.”
in heaven everything is fine rest in peace david lynch..
in heaven everything is fine rest in peace david lynch..
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🧠i know for a fact that i’m guilty of wanting that dopamine hit of having people see my posts and like them, but i’m trying to change my mentality around that here. i’m finding myself more at peace just posting my recommendations and taking solace that someone might find them in the future and enjoy what i suggest, rather than needing an instant gratification of a like. i feel as though i’m adding a brick to the communal building that is this cool userbase of interesting people.