foggyhears
I may post album reviews here someday, but I though it would be even more fun to post descriptions of music genres that I enjoy, and what they mean to me. Kind of like a "personal" music history. Yes, most of these are "microgenres" that likely don't need any sort of label on them, since people just like to make music. But I find that it's fun to play the microgenre game. Maybe you'll discover something new.
Chillwave is an interesting genre, because it is the only one I've written about that I actually was around for (and remember) the genesis of it. It's such a 2009-2012 summer sound. Even the album covers of some of these albums look like they were made on early Instagram, when we would post photos and play with the filters. The quintessential track, to me, is represented in Washed Out's debut EP Life of Leisure, which contains the hit (and eventual Portlandia theme song) "Feel It All Around." But Life of Leisure is more than a . To me, it can silmoultaneously evokes images of some tropical vacation while being very personal. For me, this is my most personal music genre.
It feels like "chillwave" and "synthwave" are used interchangeably nowadays, but there is a distinction; it's one of those that's hard to describe, but you know it when you hear it. It's hard to bring up chillwave without also mentioning Chaz, the brain behind Toro y Moi, and GUY, the frontman of Neon Indian. Both extremely influential, There's a focus on filters, on voice and instruments, to evoke a kind of memory, tricking you into thinking "I've heard this before" but from past life. But it's a fading memory that never completely goes away.
Chillwave also exudes the classic problem of "I've heard this song somewhere, but cannot for the life of me remember the title, artist, or even what the album looks like" (though I guess this fits in with the "fading memory" comparison). About A Feeling is one such album that I put on recently, and instantly recognized four or five songs that I've since forgotten about. The laxy, almost satirically filtered vocals evoke summer heat combined with misty droplets, the early college feeling where possibilities were endless.
Most of these artists are still making music now. Washed Out had a great album come out in 2020, Purple Noon, though I haven't heard his most recent work. Brothertiger, however, has been consistently putting out albums that mostly fit the bill for chillwave, but with a slightly more eighties influence. Although Brothertiger wasn't a pioneer of chillwave, I consder him to be one of the best modern representations of the genre.
Foggy's Favorite Chillwave
