Night Clerk Radio: Haunted Music Reviews

Dungeon Synth is a genre that presents a unique blend of aesthetics by combining the fantastical themes of role-playing games with the moodiness and storytelling of dark ambient. In this episode, Ross and Birk listen to two albums from two very different periods in the history of Dungeon Synth and explore how the genre has evolved from its roots in black metal and 90's synths to a more nostalgic chip tune approach rooted in a love of 8- and 16-bit video games. Lend your ear to this musical adventure!Albums Discussed------------------Depressive Silence - Mourning (orig. Depressive Silence II)KOBOLD - The valley of the forgotten secretsRelated Links--------------A Guide Through the Darkened Passages of Dungeon SynthA Beginner’s Guide to…Dungeon SynthThe (Somewhat) Definitive Guide to Dungeon SynthCredits--------Music by: 2Mello Artwork by: Patsy McDowell Ross on TwitterBirk on TwitterFollow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

We recently talked to Ron Parres, the organizer behind Vaporspace StL. They are launching a massive online vaporwave concert on May 22 and 23. Find out what the live vaporwave scene was like before Covid and what online concerts are like. Music Mentioned----------------Sound Market- Eco RegionsExtra Breezy by Bonus PointsSmoker's Lounge Deluxe by Trans World Airlines Related Links-------------VAPORSPACE StL is an IRL & URL concentration of vaporwave and vapor-adjacent artists and their fans. VAPORSPACE StL’s primary mission is producing high-quality music events featuring vaporwave artists, while showcasing the artistic talent in St. Louis and the Midwest.Watch Vaporspace StL on TwitchRon Parres on TwitterCredits--------Music by: 2Mello Artwork by: Patsy McDowell Ross on TwitterBirk on TwitterFollow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

Plunderphonics is a term coined by composer John Oswald in 1985. It describes any music that is constructed by mutating existing audio recordings into entirely new compositions. By making plunderphonic music artists tackle copyright law, fair use, the legitimacy of sampling, and numerous other issues surrounding the production of art in a digital world. Join us as we discuss the history of plunderphonics, how listening to plunderphonic music has shaped our musical tastes and experiences, and how this all relates back to vaporwave. Steal This Episode!Music Sampled-----------------Greyfolded - Grateful Dead & John OswaldPekka Pohjola - Sekoilu Seestyy (Madness Subsides)DJ Shadow - Midnight In A Perfect WorldNEGATIVLAND - U2Related Links-------------"Plunderphonics, or Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative"Why a Canadian Composer’s Controversial 80s Work is Still Ahead of Today's Copyright LawsTake A Byte Out: DJ Shadow, the Avalanches and the History of PlunderphonicsGirl Talk - All DayGeorge Marsh on Drums: Interviewed by Terry McGovernEvery Sample From The Avalanches Since I Left YouDJ Shadow on crate digging in the documentary ScratchCredits--------Music by: 2Mello Artwork by: Patsy McDowell Ross on TwitterBirk on TwitterFollow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

Mallsoft is a subgenre of vaporwave that aims to comment on our relationship with retail spaces and consumerism. By emulating and sampling muzak, often mixed with field recordings of actual stores, Mallsoft creates a sense of occupying now abandoned shopping centers. Wander the aisles of nostalgia with us as we discuss two pillar albums of the genre.The AlbumsHologram Plaza슈퍼마켓Yes! We’re OpenRelated Links-------------Mallsoft Is The New Elevator MusicAlone In Public - a No Man's Sky ReviewThe myth and majesty of Vangelis’ timeless Blade Runner soundtrackWho Sampled Yes We're OpenJordan Bortner Yes We're Open!Credits--------Music by: 2Mello Artwork by: Patsy McDowell Ross on TwitterBirk on TwitterFollow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

Vaporwave is haunted music because it’s about being haunted by our recent past and futures they never came. Dark Ambient is haunted because it pulls us into a subtly horrifying realm. It’s a form of catharsis for late night walks, study sessions, and all the quiet nights we experience. These two albums take the listener through haunted hotels and abandoned space stations. Take a listen and try not to get lost.The Albums Miles To MidnightS O L A R I SRelated Links --------------Dark Ambient: For When You Need to Concentrate… or Meditate on the Nothingness of ExistenceA Cinematic Edge: An Interview with Cryo Chamber Founder Simon Heath Angelo Badalamenti On Writing Laura Palmer's ThemeInterview with Eduard Artemyev, composer for Tarkovsky's SolarisCredits--------Music by: 2Mello Artwork by: Patsy McDowell Ross on TwitterBirk on TwitterFollow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

Without video game music, vaporwave would not exist. Just as vaporwave is music for a future that no longer exists, soundtracks for fictional games now haunt the Internet. These concept albums evoke the era of late 90s and early 2000s consoles while still retaining original ideas. Find a save point and listen for a while.The AlbumsPleasant SpecterNight of Terror Related Links-------------Hauntology on WikipediaVideo essay on hauntologyGhost of our lives essayADX file format description-------------Music by: 2Mello Artwork by: Patsy McDowell Ross on TwitterBirk on TwitterFollow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

Both Birk and I stumbled onto vaporwave through the Internet. I can place my discovery of it within a few days thanks to archived emails and chats. Caleb Stokes, friend of the podcast messaged me on August 18, 2014 “BTW, this vaporwave shit is the elevator music of carcosa”. In this episode, we each review the first vaporwave album we remember and think back to how it affects us now.The AlbumsEcojames Volume 1Computer Death Related Links-------------Signalwave explainer videoSampling/Plunderphonics essayFirst episode of RPPR that mentions vaporwaveWho Sampled for Computer Death Clifford Marshall van Buren -------------Music by: 2Mello Artwork by: Patsy McDowell Ross on TwitterBirk on TwitterFollow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

A poet once described vaporwave as “It kinda like living in a junkyard but you're in a dystopian future and you find a bunch of VHS tapes and you're the only person in the world and everything is lonely but you have a bunch of weed and you're high all the time and you're in Japan and you're in the sky.” It’s a little more complicated than that but you get the idea.Birk and I talk about the appeal of music like vaporwave and why we want to explore it. If you’ve been drawn to media outside the mainstream and appreciate art made without commercial consideration by outsiders, perhaps you might like vaporwave. It’s the soundtrack to memories of a lost future. No better time to start listening than today…Related Links-------------The K-Mart TapesSabrepulseStreets of Rage 2 soundtrackSilent Hill 2 soundtrackBoards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy An Abandoned Mall in Birk's home townBabbling Corpse, a book about vaporwaveCry Novel: a visual novel The Vaporwave subreddit-------------Music by: 2Mello Artwork by: Patsy McDowell Ross on TwitterBirk on TwitterFollow Night Clerk Radio on Twitter for updates

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