Chillwave
 |
| Chillwave | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Synthpop Psychedelic pop Dream Pop Electronic music Chillout Lo-fi Shoegaze Ambient House R&B Downtempo |
| Cultural origins | Late 2000s United States |
| Typical instruments | Synthesizer, drum machine, sampler |
Chillwave (also referred to as Glo-Fi[1]) is a debated genre of music where artists are often characterized by their heavy use of effects processing, synthesizers, looping, sampling, and heavily filtered vocals with simple melodic lines. Its musical predecessors are diverse and include the synthpop of the 1980s, shoegaze,[2] ambient, musique concrète and various types of music outside of the Western World. In this case, nostalgia of 80s synthpop is filtered through a distorted lens, re-envisioning the era in a more vague and lo-fi sense. The term Chillwave is said to have been originated on the Hipster Runoff blog written by 'Carles', on his accompanying 'blog radio' show of the same name, [3] and proliferated by Sirius XMU DJ Josiah.
The genre is also a prime example of shifting the idea from defining a musical movement's birth in part by a specific geographic location, as is historically done, to focusing instead on how the groups became linked and defined through various outlets on the Internet. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Whereas musical movements were once determined by a city or venue where the bands congregated, 'now it's just a blogger or some journalist that can find three or four random bands around the country and tie together a few commonalities between them and call it a genre,' said Alan Palomo of Neon Indian."[4] Despite the stylistic similarities listed above, Palomo and other artists have questioned whether chillwave really constitutes a discrete genre.
The New York Times' Jon Pareles described the music thus: "They're solo acts or minimal bands, often with a laptop at their core, and they trade on memories of electropop from the 1980s, with bouncing, blipping dance-music hooks (and often weaker lead voices). It's recession-era music: low-budget and danceable."[5]
Observers have noted that Panda Bear, especially his 2007 album Person Pitch, foreshadowed the movement proper.[6][7] Ariel Pink is also a related pioneer with his psychedelic pop style.
Often noted and associated bands of the genre include Washed Out, Neon Indian,[8] Toro Y Moi, LAY BAC, Golden Ages,[9] Ducktails, Small Black, Memory Tapes, Lone, Com Truise, Nite Jewel, MillionYoung, Blackbird Blackbird, Levek, Brothertiger, and Teen Daze.
Phil Thomas Katt is considered to be the 'godfather of chillwave.' Influences can be clearly heard on the 1993 album, "Curious.
References
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13438-life-of-leisure-ep/
- ^ How Ernest Greene Became the Poster Boy for Chillwave
- ^ http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/03/13/is-chillwave-the-next-big-music-trend/
- ^ Garin Pirnia (2010-03-13). "Is Chillwave the Next Big Music Trend?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ^ Jon Pareles (2010-03-21). "Spilling Beyond a Festival's Main Courses". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ^ Slothbear, Indy Rock Reviewss [sic]::: Panda Bear - Tomboy/Slow Motion 7", SPOTBLOG, July 23, 2010.
- ^ "Bros Icing Bros: Which Mellow Act Is the True King of Chill?" Time Out Chicago, July 15–21, 2010: 20.
- ^ Brent DiCrescenzo, "Bros Icing Bros: Which Mellow Act Is the True King of Chill?" Time Out Chicago, July 15–21, 2010: 20.
- ^ simplemonkey, Chillwave: A Sound in 4 Albums, Simple Monkey's Leavings, March 23, 2010.