After receiving an e-mail from DARKPYRAMID, the creator of ‘FLORAL SHOPPE 2′ which was amusingly unveiled on Dream Catalogue today to severe backlash from the vaporwave community, he felt compelled to explain the album to you all, so he wrote up an open letter on why he made this album and the points he was trying to raise:

Dear the vaporwave community,

Earlier this week, after exploring the new vaporwave ultra guide that has been floating around online, I was listening to one of the recommended albums in the ‘classic’ section – namely, ░▒▓新しいデラックスライフ▓▒░ - ▣世界から解放され▣ (Listen here)

I was wondering to myself as I was listening, what is this shit? So I did a bit of research and found out to my surprise that is an album created under a pseudonym of one of the most popular vaporwave producers, Internet Club. While vaporwave can be very challenging at times, this album just seemed to push the boundaries of experimentation further out than I had ever heard within the genre before, to the point of becoming absolute crap, unlistenable.

 This got me thinking. I wondered, do people like this album because they are truly interested in such inaccessible, challenging and experimental music, or do they give it time because it was made by a producer who is highly respected in the vaporwave scene for his other releases? This led to even further thought on the subject. How important is the aesthetic presentation to vaporwave as a genre? Do we enjoy things more if it is presented with interesting imagery, and less so if it is presented with something that is aesthetically displeasing?

So I decided to come up with an experiment. I drank two bottles of wine and for six hours straight I sat at my computer making what I felt was the most unlistenable and challenging music possible using something resembling vaporwave techniques, harnessing the concept of ▣世界から解放され▣  while trying to push the boat out even further. I first attempted this sober, but it did not come out as correctly as I envisaged, because my natural musicianship took over, which is why I decided I had to be inebriated to make it.You can also blame the wine for my attempt at ragga-style rapping on the record.

 I e-mailed Hong Kong Express (ed: the owner of Dream Catalogue) about this idea I had come up with and he was very interested from the start and anticipated hearing it. The original plan had been for me to create a new Bandcamp under ‘The Darkest Future’ moniker (more on that name in a moment) and have it be a one and done thing. The original album was actually going to be called ▣世界から解放され▣  2, and the album cover looked something like this:

It was only yesterday I decided to change the name to ‘FLORAL SHOPPE 2′, and I quickly came up with the cover. Why ‘FLORAL SHOPPE 2′ instead? Because it was going to piss more people off and have more of an effect than it would if I had released it under the original name and cover. It’s like I said – the whole concept of aesthetic presentation having such a strong effect on the music. So I threw in a few reverbed out samples of リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー over the top of a couple of parts so there was at least a loose connection to the original. Close observers will also heard a few minor samples from ▣世界から解放され▣  that were from the original take.

So I e-mailed the album to Hong Kong Express a couple of days ago, and he got around to listening to it and told me the whole concept was intriguing, and he asked if I wanted to release the album on Dream Catalogue to gain even greater effect. I couldn’t refuse this great offer, so I said yes and sent him the master files. I argued the case for putting it out with no explanation, and that’s what we did. Reading everyone’s responses to it on /r/vaporwave and /mu/ so far has been amusing and highly predictable, but I felt I owed this explanation to everyone because the focus of the assault has been on Dream Catalogue, what I consider to be by far the most interesting vaporwave label in operation today, rather than on me, its creator.

The weirdest thing about this whole experiment is how I have actually grown to enjoy ░▒▓新しいデラックスライフ▓▒░ - ▣世界から解放され▣  over the past week after listening to it well over ten times in full, finding new things to enjoy about it with every listen. Now, even listening to my own ‘FLORAL SHOPPE 2′ is beginning to grow on me in a strange way today, as I see it up on Dream Catalogue with the humorous album art proudly on display.

‘The Darkest Future’ is the trend I see in music, as we head further into the abyss. Vaporwave at its core is ultimately not a form of music, but the first true “post-music” genre that has grew from being more than the tiniest niche into something of its own scene. While there have been other forms of “post-music” in the past, even decades ago, vaporwave is the first scene of its kind to really take it to the next level to the point where someone like Vektroid receives high praise for slowing down a Diana Ross sample and creating weird sounding loops out of it. Just think – would anyone actually care about that if it was not presented with such an intriguing album art on a reputable label like Beer on the Rug?

This isn’t a criticism of vaporwave either, but rather an observation of human behavior. I love the original ‘Floral Shoppe’ as much as the next vaporwave fan, but I can readily admit I would never have given it the time of day if it was not released by Beer on the Rug with an interesting name and album art. Just as you all would never have listened to Floral Shoppe 2 at least once (the chances are you have done if you are reading this), if it was not called ‘Floral Shoppe 2′ and released on Dream Catalogue.

It’s no surprise that this scene has blossomed so much now, considering the amount of avenues for music to explore in this age we live in are now minimal. Everything has been done, and what is considered innovative today tends to just be rehashed ideas with slight variations on the original. What is considered innovative in modern music? FKA Twigs? Her music is not innovative in any way, only her aesthetic presentation is. Where else are we going? The last truly innovative music genre was dubstep and we all know what happened to that.

What is innovative now is vaporwave. Because of its presentation, the music becomes more than just a song and instead something larger than that – having a cinematic effect, if you will. I know this is a concept that Hong Kong Express shares as it is something we have discussed, and is the reason why Dream Catalogue presents their albums and music videos (except Floral Shoppe 2, heh) with such vivid imagery behind them. This is ultimately the next innovation in music, and people who say “vaporwave is dead” are completely off base, I tihk. I say instead that music is dead, and may vaporwave continue to live.

Yours lovingly,

DARKPYRAMID

 

If you want to find out more about DARKPYRAMID, here are some useful links:

http://soundcloud.com/darkpyramid - DARKPYRAMID on Soundcloud
http://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/electric-l-te-rdrops – His debut album on Dream Catalogue, released earlier this year