Home Theater, by CGI Gold™ 複合

Heartfelt Midi-Jams by CGI Gold™ 複合, presented by Bogus Collective.

Home Theater is an adorably nostalgic project with both feet firmly planted in historic midi sounds. Harkening back to the days of home computers and retro Roland sound modules. CGI Gold incorporates several of these motifs that you may just recognize.

Even if the riffs are not familiar, the uninitiated listener will still feel a unique energy from the chords and tones used. Huge synthesized drumkits smash and bash behind artificial yet wholesome midi tones. Sound wise – everything is ripped straight from the 90’s, soaked in strange summer vibes of yesteryear.

It’s a fun listen from start to finish, with plenty of energy and grooves to keep things interesting. While not necessarily Vaporwave, Home Theater sees use of many techniques like conservative sample flipping, chopping and stuttering. The core midi flavor is never unhinged however, no matter how hazy or sliced the sounds are, they always find their way back to those nostalgic rhythms and tones.

The 11 tracks steam by at light speed – making this one perfect for repeat listens. You can stream and download the project now via Bogus Collectives Bandcamp Page.

Encounter Vast, by Bro Biden

I was very excited to find a new release from Vivarium Recordings in my feed – I recognized the name Bro Biden instantly and hopped over to the band camp page. When I arrived, before I could click play, I discovered another blurb had already been written – while not exactly high praise, the final words of the author read “good luck“. I read this and immediately took it as a challenge. What could be inside that is so gnarly that it would warrant such a warning? Intrigued, I dove in, and what I discovered was a nearly bottomless pool of beautiful creativity.

Tomorrow Entertainment Records

Tomorrow Entertainment Records is a label with a catalog as satisfying as it is unique. Embracing a multi-genre umbrella approach, they have helped release music from a wide range of genres, created by producers all over the world!

With a primarily digital catalog that is often-if-not-always on sale, there is no excuse NOT to dive into their world, which is exactly what we are about to do….

We are very sorry to announce that Tomorrow Entertainment Records has received a DCMA takedown, resulting in the disappearance if the entire catalog on Bandcamp. 
Depending on what TER does moving forward, we will make adjustments to the article and links!

Merak Holograms, by bliss3three

Truly blissful new sounds from the gang at Vivarium Recordings – Merak holograms is a 2-track project by bliss3three of quite pleasing ambient-vaporwave experiments. Starting melodic and meditative with ‘eremocene music’, an 11 minute mellow epic that deserves to be on repeat – leading into ‘hygge’ – a much shorter creation focusing on a few very peculiar yet satisfying riffs. Taking less than 15 minutes to experience, I encourage you to explore this microcosm!

SOUND SYSTEM 9, by MISE

Fresh from the Seikomart gang is SOUND SYSTEM 9 by MISE – a self proclaimed Vaportrap album with heavy flavors of video game soundtracks. Melodic riffs are as enticing as the huge 808 drums, tuned kicks flying around with a flurry of hi-hats. There’s nice variety on the album too, not sticking to traditional *trap* patterns for every track – instead opting to hop around the vaporspace while also taking cues from chiptune realms and deep house.

The overall style manages to remain playful and lighthearted even when the biggest percussion is slapping – juxtaposed with joyful synths plucking around the atmosphere. Tracks can get quite wonky at times, with detuned bass occasionally clashing with melodies and harmonies, however it all really adds to the charm – taking on a whole new destroyed club partyboi vibe that I personally really dig. FASTBOOT is a great example of this style. Very excited to hear more from this producer…

Grow Up, by kiwii

Nice new sounds from the family at DMT Tapes – Grow Up is an album by producer kiwii with big nostalgic lo-fi energy. Lots of sounds and samples reminiscent of N64 game OST’s much like the album artwork implies. I am not familiar enough with the music of the Zelda games to know if the music on this album is a direct re-interpretation or sampled direct, or simply inspired by, but either way it’s very satisfying and works perfectly as alternate music to any RPG you might be playing! Lots of delicious atmosphere and riffs here to latch onto, often times i found myself smiling at this wistful nature of the sounds, swirling innocently around me as I explore…

Ambient Symphonies in the Cyberpunk Era, by Elastic Colors

Inspired by retro sci-fi soundtracks and the 80’s vision of cyberpunk culture, Elastic Colors has crafted a magnificent conceptual album “Ambient Symphonies in the Cyberpunk Era”. Released by Tokyo based label I Low You Records, it’s a bold and thick 14-track project – steeped in warm synths and fuzzy atmospherics.

After listening for a few tracks, it becomes apparent that something special is happening here. Of course all the melodies are sitting where they should, with very addicting riffs sparking up here and there, but it’s something churning under the surface that is triggering some nostalgiagasms.

Upon further inspection my suspicions were confirmed – as the producer utilized a unique technique of recording the entire album onto VHS tape before being mastered for release! The result is an incredibly warm and analogue experience, even when streaming the tracks through my browser I could feel the tape unwinding as the music played…

Some of my favorite tracks are the more ethereal and atmospheric ones – such as “Higher” – with the disjointed percussion and wandering synths, it sets an uneasy scene that’s only amplified with the detuned warped chords sweeping around you. It’s a wonderful and impressive marriage of sound design and post-vaporwave concepts.

Technically the album released October 10th, but you can download and stream the entire project via bandcamp right now! I hope this is a hit that perhaps a physical release will be incoming, but for now a digital edition is more than enough. Great for fans of soundtrack music, Emerald Web, Windham Hill or John Carpenter.

Serenity in the Vast Darkness, by Lucid Sound Driver

Beautiful melodic and textural ambient by Lucid Sound Driver (an incredibly appropriate moniker), presented in a variety of formats by Æscape Sounds.

Lush new age with a thick atmosphere, dense with emotion and nostalgia. My favorite type of ambient, really – the kind that can set the mood comfortably in the background, or deeply appreciated when more attention is payed. The 6 tracks, though not brief by any means, left me wanting more as the phased synthesizers guided me towards the light beyond the darkness.

The 3-part opening trilogy of tracks are quite strong – even going so far as to destroy one of my biggest bothers in music – the inclusion of police/ambulance sirens, turning it into something quite atmospherically beautiful. There’s even a Sangam feature on this record, but interestingly enough I found that to be the weakest track of the project – feeling almost uninspired and lacking the polish of the rest of the record. It’s still a good track, perhaps I got my hopes up a little too high!

I do adore the generous use of field recordings around this record – gentle breeze, dripping rain and passing vehicles. At times it can be triumphant, while taking mysterious brooding turns towards angst and grief. A story is surely being told, but you can put the pieces together yourself.

You can get the record now Digitally at name-your-own price – or if you choose to support, you can get a Cassette Tape, a CD or Vinyl (all of which are still in stock at the time of this posting) – or even get a beautiful looking poster for only a couple dollars!

forest, by gengVr

Fresh from Tomorrow Entertainment Records is this quaint audio journey – forest by gengVr.

Hop on board the next train out of the city and deep into the countryside – take your Walkman or your Panasonic for a long walk through the forest. YOUR forest! You will wander for 24 hours, the soundtrack following faithfully along. As you microdose the atmosphere around you via the hourly tracks, you are presented with quite a diverse array of sounds and influences – lo-fi hip hop churned together with mysterious plunderphonics makes for quite the unique and experimental flavor of vapor. Quite a satisfying journey indeed…

HOMEVIDEO, by Gould ’72

Gould ’72 is the newish/alternate project from established beatsmith All These Fingers seeing the producer take a more direct approach to songwriting, foregoing the tried-and-true methods of sample smashing and chopping. HOMEVIDEO showcases some serious chillwave styles that at times boarder on post-vaporwave. LORIMAR DEVELOPMENT HELL has to be my favorite track simply because of the synth tones used, it could have been a long-lost track to some video games OST, the backdrop to a mystical water level! If you aren’t familiar with ATF beats, Gould ’72 is a great place to start… And c’mon, theres an ALAN PARSONS PROJECT COVER!!!