Vapor Vertebrae 02-2016 Part C

PowerPCME
Color Spectrum

<Single>

Did you know that they invented colors in Utica, New York? Hm, okay, a few questions come to mind: who's they? And which colors are we talking about? That's what front artworks and big bold letters are there for, so here goes everything: the first dish of the day is provided by PowerPCME whose single Color Spectrum provides a gorgeously cavernous soul-cleansed hypanthium that sits somewhere in-between the glacial ice floes of Glitch and that chlorotic V-genre. Sun-kissed castanets from Ibiza, stokehold-alloyed echo-laden percussion layers taken straight out of an industrial park, magenta Trap fusillades and a high-metallicity steel-coated vestige of a melody round off a nocturnal cyber solanum… in tandem, naturally. In a surprising turn that diffuses throughout its runtime, Color Spectrum is an antrum, cavity, ventricle, or better still: a hollow juggernaut whose contrachromatic abberation showcases the only burst of colors in a mephitic world. An impressive imp.

Twitter: @PowerPCME

Golden Prism Tech.
777

<Single>

Golden Prism Tech. hails from Silicon Valley, and considering the neon-green trail running shoe, is expected to provide a technology-fueled Tartarean tunnel vision. However, to say it in a wonderfully literal saying: not so fast! Turns out that 777 is more of a velveteen thiazide than a fast-paced trip. Vaporwave fans can and will relate. During a runtime of — nomen est omen — seven minutes, Golden Prism Tech. inculcates the wonders of vintage Vapor akin to the erudite epistemology of, say, Replicy Federation or Iacon. The mood is cautiously Detroit-y due to the past-midnight glow that's both tawny and amethystine. The mood is deep, the vocals are slowed down and elasticized, but what makes the architectural prowess of 777 so luring is the simultaneity of smoke-filled synth f(l)umes and the constant omnipresence of a pitch-black nothingness that flickers and emanates in the parallax areas of the locale. This one's for the night, and tomorrow may never come.

Twitter: @golden_prisms

RØBØTAISEN
シーサイドブラッド・ムーン

<Question Compendium Comp.>

Hailing from Saratoga, California, RØBØTAISEN annihilates the citronic gold of the state in order to agglutinate dark-cerulean skies to the presented soundscape. シーサイドブラッド・ムーン is part of the Question Compendium compilation as curated by Methyr and released on his Peterborough, UK-based label Question Records. Not that I can provide the scholastic answers to the question, but I know that RØBØTAISEN's tune provides a lactic-matutinal atmosphere with glaucous-gunmetal undertones, pale viridian legato synth washes, MIDI-based hi-hats and similarly artificial brass blebs. This is Vaporwave alright, especially so in the latter half when the situation is slowed down a notch or two, but in lieu of histrionic friendliness, remoteness is king and contemplation the state to worship. The reduced color palette shifts into blue tones, and it is exactly here where シーサイドブラッド・ムーン is able to radiate wisdom and peacefulness. A most refreshing scenario, almost prone to be considered New Age.

Twitter: @r0b0taisen   @questionvapor

Y2K
Before The Sun Goes Down

<Single>

Accidentally or not (I'd say not), this here Vapor Vertebrae edition shows a proclivity for a hatched gamut, less-saturated colors, a more metal-based gradient. What a orthochromatic change of pace Y2K provides. The Wisconsinite who is also known as No Death, Back Pain or simply Jack brings the motherflangerin' troposphere into Before The Sun Goes Down. He ameliorates the sweeping Mellotron magnetism with square lead prism drops, tetragonal hi-hat hydrazine and an uplifting melody that is further boosted by vocoded injections. That 80's pineapple feeling — or was that peeling? — is somewhat perceptible, but experienced through a reticulation or moiré; the gaudy tackiness is filtered and doesn't reach the ears of the listening subject. In lieu of these spermatocystic flares, a funkier approach is chosen. The colors are again diminished, the common theme of this Vapor Vertebrae's series of presented tracks, but still able to protrude the adaxial helictite-covered palace. Those cave pearls are salubrious, awash with syringa hues and mauve moisture. A fitting title for a magnanimous moment.

Twitter: @_backpain

STΛQQ ƟVERFLƟ
System Affliction

<Virulence EP>

Aokigahara Forest's chief druid STΛQQ ƟVERFLƟ already shines in 2016, and at the time of writing, the year is still young. Should I worry that the artist peaks too soon? Probably, for his full-length collaboration with Cobalt Road named Biosphere (Bedlam Tapes, 2016) is supercharged with chaparrals, glades and desert groves, a mighty strong concept album. In addition, the featured tune System Affliction is too deliciously dubious a take to ignore. Taken from the five-track EP VIRULENCE as released on Vito's Florida-based DMT[REC] label shortly before the aforementioned big album, it is not to be underestimated. The second track of five, System Affliction unites the artist's trademark Vaportrap sound with all of its rhythmic punctilio, bass blebs and quasi-hidden Windows sounds alright, but the result is still unexpected! A phantasmagoria of Metroid-like danger profusions, Lounge elevator tone sequences and claustrophobia-evoking acid hooks, the comparatively quiescent peacefulness is but a fittingly virulent ploy. Shuttling between laser pulses, uneasy isospin handclaps and benthic lake lariats, this is undoubtedly STΛQQ ƟVERFLƟ's nastiest pipe dream with a series of ominous twists, twilights and titrations.

Twitter: @StaqqOverflo

Vaporwave Review 154: Vapor Vertebrae 02/2016 [Part C]. Originally published on Feb. 26, 2016 at AmbientExotica.com.