Unironically: Is vaporwave more real now?

[u/aemael]

I am consistently overwhelmed and disappointed with the shere amount of music ai slop that comes out on spotify and youtube. Don't get me wrong, I like to keep my media physical and continue to build up my library. But finding new music, especially playlists, now seemed to turn into churning over a bunch of ai slop.

VaporWave, a decade ago, was labelled a 'lazy' musical art. You download a sample, or record one yourself, or pirate a song and then add a wall of reverb and slow down the track. All the while adding repeating cuts. I think this is what people usually consider "vaporwave" as a genre, and disregarding the arts of Windows 96, Home, and 2814 (just to highlight my favorites).

In light of this, isn't vaporwave now a more "alive" genre in the zeitgeist than it was 10 years ago? And considering the eternal trend of "all new is the well forgotten old" should make this genre even more relevant.

p.s. Thoughts and rambling in a new r/.

[u/crasherpistol]

I do think the practice of finding samples and doing whatever to them is an inherently human activity that should not be replaced by computers

[u/aemael → u/crasherpistol]

100%. When comparing the process of writing a prompt to actually downloading a song/sample and actively slicing/cutting/adding effects to it, the winner is clear.

[u/rodan-rodan → u/crasherpistol]

Right the curation and re contextualizing a sample is THE art.

[u/LunaWabohu]

People have always considered plunderphonics lazy unfortunately

[u/aemael → u/LunaWabohu]

Ngl, you introduced me to the term plunderphonics.

[u/wintermute_online32 → u/LunaWabohu]

Any time I see that take I always think that person should go listen to essentially any of the Avalanches albums

[u/finnswaking]

[u/rodan-rodan → u/finnswaking]

Hahahah

[u/rodan-rodan]

I also think synth wave got ruined and less real by AI copies. But there's plenty of real artists doing it. It's just harder to tell.

Also i think vaporwave aesthetic is ruined by AI... Everything has that sheen and v kinda 80s movie theater promo faux neon look. It's ironic in some ways and terrible in others

[u/Training_Basil_2169 → u/rodan-rodan]

If you listen to tracks first on headphones it can be pretty easy to tell. Stereo field changes (instruments having certain notes on different areas of the stereo field at random times, more common in strings and piano), instruments timbre changing over time, phasing issues (look it up on YouTube for an example), other sounds leaking into an instrument (guitars sounding like cymbals, or random electric guitar chords on synth hits), and finally a delay effect playing lines that haven't been played (common on pianos) are all things I've encountered when checking if music is AI or not.

[u/h4ley20 → u/rodan-rodan]

Yea it’s even hard to find artists with album art that looks “real” like it doesn’t look like it’s made by an artist but at the same time I am not the master of art. It’s so hard to tell what’s just AI mash up & what’s some guy going on a Miami vice wave with his albums

[u/Niven42]

You can also use unorthodox recording and arranging tools like loopers to create things that "break" the rules.

[u/aemael → u/Niven42]

I mess around in daws a bit, and efx that add that vhs or vinyl crackle are my go to for the hi-ends

[u/xStaabOnMyKnobx]

Production laziness isnt inherently a Vaporwave issue. Is slicing 4 bars, setting it to a loop, and calling it a day lazy? Absolutely. But thats nothing to do with Vaporwave you could make a rap song just as lazily.