Vaporwave Subgenres: A Journey Through Digital Dreamscapes

Imagine cruising through neon-drenched city streets, with the soft hum of synthesizers filling the air—you’re not in a retro-futuristic movie; you’re inside the world of vaporwave. Born from the depths of the internet in the early 2010s, vaporwave is more than just music. It’s a cultural movement, a critique of capitalism, a nostalgic escape, and an aesthetic revolution. But vaporwave is also incredibly diverse, spawning numerous subgenres that take the core elements—slowed-down samples, 80s pop culture, surreal visuals—and twist them in fascinating ways. This article delves into the most prominent vaporwave subgenres, taking you through their unique sounds, aesthetics, and themes. From the haunting melodies of future funk to the melancholic ambiance of mallsoft, we’ll explore it all. Each subgenre offers its own distinct interpretation of the vaporwave ethos, making the genre a rich tapestry of digital nostalgia and avant-garde experimentation.

1. Future Funk

The term might be vaporwave, but future funk is pure energy. This subgenre infuses the classic slowed-down samples with funk and disco beats, making it one of the most danceable and vibrant subgenres. Future funk artists like Yung Bae, Saint Pepsi, and Macross 82-99 breathe life into old tracks, chopping up old Japanese city pop or Western disco songs and reassembling them into something new, vibrant, and fun. It’s less about melancholy and more about celebration, a feel-good vibe with an eye toward the past but an unmistakable sense of joy.

Key Characteristics:

• Upbeat tempo compared to standard vaporwave.
• Heavy reliance on disco and funk samples.
• Bright, neon, and often anime-inspired aesthetics.
• A focus on nostalgia through joy rather than sadness.

2. Mallsoft

Ever walked into an empty mall late at night and felt a tinge of sadness? That’s mallsoft in audio form. This subgenre is all about the eerie ambiance of abandoned shopping malls, evoking the excess of 80s consumer culture. Think of slowed-down elevator music, the echoes of a bygone capitalist utopia. Mallsoft tracks often feature sounds like air conditioning hums, intercom announcements, and echoing footsteps, creating a sense of isolation and emptiness that makes listeners reflect on the desolation of consumerism.

Key Characteristics:

• Use of muzak or elevator music.
• Ambient soundscapes resembling mall acoustics.
• Themes of emptiness, loneliness, and capitalism’s decay.
• Frequently features distorted or heavily slowed-down commercial jingles.

3. Hardvapour

For those who find vaporwave too dreamy and slow, there’s hardvapour. Emerging around 2015, this subgenre pushes vaporwave’s boundaries into aggressive, industrial territory. It’s often described as a dystopian reflection of vaporwave, where the nostalgia for 80s consumer culture is replaced with an angry critique of modern society. Hardvapour artists like HKE and wosX create music that’s noisy, disorienting, and aggressive, yet still rooted in the vaporwave ethos.

Key Characteristics:

• Harsh, industrial beats and noise elements.
• Aggressive, dark atmospheres.
• Themes often centered around dystopia and societal collapse.
• Less reliance on 80s pop culture samples, opting instead for grittier, more modern sounds.

4. Eccojams

One of the earliest vaporwave subgenres, Eccojams can be traced back to Chuck Person’s album “Eccojams Vol. 1,” which many consider the blueprint for vaporwave as a whole. Eccojams are characterized by the heavy repetition and looping of short snippets of 80s pop songs, creating a surreal, hypnotic effect. The repetition warps the original song into something barely recognizable, yet oddly familiar. It’s nostalgia, but viewed through a distorted lens.

Key Characteristics:

• Repetitive looping of short song samples.
• Heavy use of 80s pop music as the source material.
• A hypnotic, almost trance-like feel.
• Themes of nostalgia, memory, and the distortion of time.

5. Utopian Virtual

Where some vaporwave subgenres critique capitalism and consumerism, utopian virtual envisions a bright, digital future. This subgenre offers an idealized vision of technology and virtual worlds, often invoking imagery of sleek, futuristic cities and digital landscapes. It’s less focused on the decay of the past and more on the optimistic potential of the future. Think of the ethereal beauty of virtual environments, polished to a high gloss.

Key Characteristics:

• Bright, optimistic soundscapes.
• Frequent use of synths and digital effects to create a futuristic vibe.
• Themes often centered on virtual worlds and utopian futures.
• Aesthetically aligned with cyberpunk and digital culture.

6. Signalwave

Imagine flipping through radio channels or television stations, catching just brief snippets of sound before they disappear into static—that’s signalwave. This subgenre takes vaporwave’s obsession with ephemeral media and pushes it even further, chopping up sound bites from commercials, TV shows, and radio broadcasts into a disorienting, glitchy collage. It’s as if you’re hearing fragmented transmissions from a forgotten era.

Key Characteristics:

• Short, choppy samples of media broadcasts.
• Heavy use of static, distortion, and interference.
• Themes of fragmentation, lost media, and fleeting memories.
• A sense of disconnection from time, like listening to media from a parallel universe.

7. Late Night Lo-Fi

Late Night Lo-Fi takes the smooth, relaxing tones of lo-fi music and blends them with vaporwave’s slowed-down, nostalgic aesthetic. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a midnight drive through empty streets, with distant streetlights casting long shadows. It’s calm, melancholic, but also peaceful, offering listeners a quiet space for reflection. Lo-fi hip-hop beats are often incorporated, making it one of the more accessible vaporwave subgenres for mainstream listeners.

Key Characteristics:

• Chill, relaxing tempos.
• A focus on atmospheric, melancholic soundscapes.
• Often incorporates lo-fi hip-hop beats.
• Themes of solitude, reflection, and introspection.

8. Vaportrap

Bringing the trap music influence into the vaporwave world, vaportrap combines the dreamy, surreal soundscapes of vaporwave with the hard-hitting beats of trap. This subgenre is often faster-paced than traditional vaporwave, but it still retains that sense of nostalgia and digital detachment. Artists like Blank Banshee are pioneers of this sound, mixing glitchy effects with heavy 808 bass and ethereal melodies.

Key Characteristics:

• Incorporation of trap beats and 808 bass.
• A balance between ethereal, dreamy soundscapes and modern production.
• Faster tempo than traditional vaporwave.
• Themes often deal with digital culture, cyber spaces, and virtual reality.

9. Dream Catalogue

Not exactly a subgenre, but a movement within vaporwave itself, Dream Catalogue represents a label that defined the genre’s darker, more surreal elements. Artists on this label frequently explore themes of dystopia, digital decay, and the darker side of nostalgia. It’s vaporwave at its most experimental, pushing the boundaries of the genre into new and unsettling territories.

Key Characteristics:

• Experimental, boundary-pushing music.
• A focus on dark, dystopian themes.
• Artists frequently use surreal and abstract visuals and sounds.
• A sense of exploring the limits of digital media and human memory.

In conclusion, vaporwave is far from a monolithic genre. Its various subgenres take the core idea of digital nostalgia and push it in all directions, from the energetic beats of future funk to the eerie isolation of mallsoft. Whether you’re looking to dance, reflect on the past, or explore the limits of digital culture, there’s a vaporwave subgenre for you.