RA: Label of the Month: Dream Catalogue

https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/2993

Anyone care to post some fav DC releases here pls

Great article! Interesting that I've described what DC and associated labels/scene do these days as "post-vaporwave" too.

Some of my faves since I discovered DC about a year and half ago:

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/atavism

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/a

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/you-forget-this

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/tokyo-restricted-area

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/rain-temple

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/--24

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/digit-l-for-st

My favs in no order (aside from some of the ones David pulled down):

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/creating-your-world

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/new-world

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/showview

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/--18

https://dreamcatalogue.bandcamp.com/album/hk

  On 7/28/2017 at 2:06 AM, joyeboy said:

Great article! Interesting that I've described what DC and associated labels/scene do these days as "post-vaporwave" too.

 

It makes sense to do so, vaporwave was already about a year past its peak when Dream Catalog started.

  On 7/28/2017 at 3:35 AM, RSP said:

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 2:06 AM, joyeboy said:

Great article! Interesting that I've described what DC and associated labels/scene do these days as "post-vaporwave" too.

 

 

 

It makes sense to do so, vaporwave was already about a year past its peak when Dream Catalog started.

 

I wish "second wave" vaporwave was a term. Post-vaporwave works too but as years go by there really does seem to be a turning point where DC shifted the scene and put a bookend to early vaporwave that had more to do with the not just the music diversitfying but people key to the original scene leaving or moving on before another generation came in. Using the term "generation" seems absurd for a genre less than 10 years old but that's really how fast and furious it's evolution has been.

This is a really good primer of the label and overview of Russo's work. Not only has DC been the label to garner the most success, it's been one of the most (if not the most) consistent quality wise.

  On 7/28/2017 at 3:46 AM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 3:35 AM, RSP said:

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 2:06 AM, joyeboy said:

Great article! Interesting that I've described what DC and associated labels/scene do these days as "post-vaporwave" too.

 

 

 

It makes sense to do so, vaporwave was already about a year past its peak when Dream Catalog started.

 

 

I wish "second wave" vaporwave was a term. Post-vaporwave works too but as years go by there really does seem to be a turning point where DC shifted the scene and put a bookend to early vaporwave that had more to do with the not just the music diversitfying but people key to the original scene leaving or moving on before another generation came in. Using the term "generation" seems absurd for a genre less than 10 years old but that's really how fast and furious it's evolution has been.

 

This is a really good primer of the label and overview of Russo's work. Not only has DC been the label to garner the most success, it's been one of the most (if not the most) consistent quality wise.

 

Just out of curiosity (and because I'm fairly new to Dream Catalogue) what other labels would you put up there as comparable? 

I like Business Casual quite a bit re: other vw labels

Post vaporware just means they started making real music

any release with interesting beats? i like beats, those mostly seems to be on ambient side.

  On 7/28/2017 at 9:55 PM, Salvatorin said:

Post vaporware just means they started making real music

lol actually correct

One of my biggest regrets in life is not buying Birth of a New Day on vinyl when I had the chance. Could kick myself forever for that.

  On 7/29/2017 at 3:37 AM, Bechuga said:

One of my biggest regrets in life is not buying Birth of a New Day on vinyl when I had the chance. Could kick myself forever for that.

  On 7/28/2017 at 8:23 PM, Extralife said:

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 3:46 AM, joshuatx said:

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 3:35 AM, RSP said:

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 2:06 AM, joyeboy said:

Great article! Interesting that I've described what DC and associated labels/scene do these days as "post-vaporwave" too.

 

 

 

It makes sense to do so, vaporwave was already about a year past its peak when Dream Catalog started.

 

 

I wish "second wave" vaporwave was a term. Post-vaporwave works too but as years go by there really does seem to be a turning point where DC shifted the scene and put a bookend to early vaporwave that had more to do with the not just the music diversitfying but people key to the original scene leaving or moving on before another generation came in. Using the term "generation" seems absurd for a genre less than 10 years old but that's really how fast and furious it's evolution has been.

 

This is a really good primer of the label and overview of Russo's work. Not only has DC been the label to garner the most success, it's been one of the most (if not the most) consistent quality wise.

 

Just out of curiosity (and because I'm fairly new to Dream Catalogue) what other labels would you put up there as comparable? 

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 9:54 PM, ladalaika said:

I like Business Casual quite a bit re: other vw labels

^ this covers most vaporwave labels of note. some of the big ones are no longer around, some of the labels on there that are really good (even better than DC arguably) like Orange Milk or Beer On The Rug aren't vaporwave labels but instead labels that put out vw along with other stuff. As great as many of these are I don't think any have come close to the acclaim and attention DC has garnered.

  On 7/28/2017 at 8:23 PM, Extralife said:

Just out of curiosity (and because I'm fairly new to Dream Catalogue) what other labels would you put up there as comparable? 

 

In terms of the post-vaporwave (or 'vapour' as most of the people involved seem to call it), these represent the broad scene beyond DC

BLCR

Bludhoney

No Problema

Cyber Dream

Plus 100

Sea of Clouds

Aurawire

Tekres

Kudatah

  On 7/28/2017 at 10:46 PM, zemudene said:

any release with interesting beats? i like beats, those mostly seems to be on ambient side.

Plenty of beaty stuff:

Lilith - Hazard Garden

DJ Alina - Maniax

Diamondstein - The Ridges

Jade Statues - Executive Towers

Subaeris - Cycle

Computer Graphics - Lo-fi

Yoshimi - Tokyo Restricted Area

Cocainejesus - We're Worried About You

A couple from DC's sister-label, the digital-only Pyramids (definitely worth a look overall as it tends to focus on rawer, more rhythmic stuff than DC):

Flash Kostavich - Mechanical Demonizer

Raj Kapoor - Hard Desi is the Future

And some of HKE's non-DC albums:

Sandtimer - In Search of the Chessmaster

HKE - Omnia

HKE - Heel Aesthetic

The scene is definitely mostly known for its dreamy, more ambient work, but there's lots of great IDM and techno stuff in there.

  On 7/29/2017 at 3:37 AM, Bechuga said:

One of my biggest regrets in life is not buying Birth of a New Day on vinyl when I had the chance. Could kick myself forever for that.

Repress is coming.

wow, thanks a lot purlieu! <3

  On 7/30/2017 at 11:32 PM, purlieu said:

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 8:23 PM, Extralife said:

 

 

Just out of curiosity (and because I'm fairly new to Dream Catalogue) what other labels would you put up there as comparable?

 

In terms of the post-vaporwave (or 'vapour' as most of the people involved seem to call it), these represent the broad scene beyond DC

BLCR

Bludhoney

No Problema

Cyber Dream

Plus 100

Sea of Clouds

Aurawire

Tekres

Kudatah

 

  On 7/28/2017 at 10:46 PM, zemudene said:

 

 

any release with interesting beats? i like beats, those mostly seems to be on ambient side.

Plenty of beaty stuff:

Lilith - Hazard Garden

DJ Alina - Maniax

Diamondstein - The Ridges

Jade Statues - Executive Towers

Subaeris - Cycle

Computer Graphics - Lo-fi

Yoshimi - Tokyo Restricted Area

Cocainejesus - We're Worried About You

 

A couple from DC's sister-label, the digital-only Pyramids (definitely worth a look overall as it tends to focus on rawer, more rhythmic stuff than DC):

Flash Kostavich - Mechanical Demonizer

Raj Kapoor - Hard Desi is the Future

 

And some of HKE's non-DC albums:

Sandtimer - In Search of the Chessmaster

HKE - Omnia

HKE - Heel Aesthetic

 

The scene is definitely mostly known for its dreamy, more ambient work, but there's lots of great IDM and techno stuff in there.

 

  On 7/29/2017 at 3:37 AM, Bechuga said:

 

 

One of my biggest regrets in life is not buying Birth of a New Day on vinyl when I had the chance. Could kick myself forever for that.

Repress is coming.

Thanks a lot. Great post.

I'm staring to see this scene as more than just derivative post-FSOL. Really digging HKE and Telepathe especially.

^ iirc there were some citing Orbital as influences - IIRC OSCOB cited them as an influence

I think a few producers and fans are in the know of older electronic music but I couldn't help notice a year or two ago just how much reinventing the wheel a lot of post-vaporwave sounded - I don't mean that as a diss either 

Myself and Nmesh are slowly converting everyone to FSOL, but it's really hard. Unless a band's being hyped or heavily namedropped at the minute, most people don't seem to care. Despite the fact that they're heavily sample-based cyberpunk-influenced sci-fi electronica with artwork filled with east-Asian people and text.

But yeah, a lot of the scene seems to think Aphex, Autechre and The Prodigy sums up '90s electronica, which is a shame. 

  On 8/1/2017 at 2:07 PM, purlieu said:

Unless a band's being hyped or heavily namedropped at the minute, most people don't seem to care. Despite the fact that they're heavily sample-based cyberpunk-influenced sci-fi electronica with artwork filled with east-Asian people and text.

That's an endearing aspect of it. 

It's just amazing how much their imagery ties in with vw stuff. The back cover of Environments 2 could practically be a Dream Catalogue sleeve:

And all this stuff:

Have you asked Brian and Gaz what they think about the vaporwave scene? I'd be curious since there is so much overlap in their aesthetics.

  On 8/1/2017 at 3:29 PM, purlieu said:

Pointless trivia of the day: she went on to play for the Arsenal women's under-21 football team.

  On 8/1/2017 at 3:41 PM, Extralife said:

Have you asked Brian and Gaz what they think about the vaporwave scene? I'd be curious since there is so much overlap in their aesthetics.

I'll mention it to Brian next time I speak to him. They've worked with Nmesh (he remixed some Amorphous stuff and there's a Humanoid remix on his new album), I wonder how much else they've heard.

  On 8/1/2017 at 3:48 PM, Rotwang said:

Pointless trivia of the day: she went on to play for the Arsenal women's under-21 football team.

 

She plays in America these days

lots of useful links in this thread! thnx guys!

p.s. i wonder how all of those producers release for all of those records... i mean, who finds who?