Luke Rowell, Vaporwave Essentials

Luke Rowell aka Eyeliner and Disasteradio of Crystal Magic Records shares his top 5 vaporwave essentials.

Chuck Persons 'Nobody Here'

The genesis of the eccojam technique that is key to vaporwave.

James Ferraro 'Linden Dollars'

Named after the in-game currency of Second Life, Ferraro's album Far Side Virtual is included into the vaporwave canon (if one exists) for exemplifying the attitude, although it uses wholly different sonic aesthetics and production techniques.

Macintosh Plus 'リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー'

A modern classic that exemplifies the common use of pop samples in a way that build a mood while stripping the words back in a hypnotic yet jarring way.

Computer Dreams - 'Rain'

The low-bitrate mp3 aliasing in this tune conjures up a haunted, nostalgic sense of the recent past in a really neat way.

Saint Pepsi - 'vanilla pepsi'

This has been my ringtone for almost a year. I love the way it presents what I'd describe as a "prime-time TV" vibe. Watch for the weird jump edit after the fadeout, which I'd describe as a crafted artifact of process / mediality.