Vaporwave snapshot 2016: TVVIN_PINEZ_M4LL and the B O G U S COLLECTIVE

Unless you've been living under a rock (and without wifi) for the last few years, there's really not a whole lot left to know about vaporwave in 2016.  It is hard to deny that vaporwave has gone through a large part of its manifest density with the existence of successful labels such as Dream Catalogue and album releases declaring and celebrating the death of vaporwave itself (sand timer).

The essence of vaporwave is volatile and perhaps the same reason it has been declared dead is due to the fact that it cannot be captured by any one major container based on any specific timeframe.  When you think you've got it, you realize it is not what you thought it was (vapor)--this is the reason why I think some have erroneously declared it dead.

There is something about the idea of a "well-established" vaporwave label that actually screams "not vaporwave at all".  For this reason I decided to shift my focus to a more realistic view of vaporwave: everyday artists, working 9-5's, lurking in the shadows, dreaming their own dreams, creating without expectations. This is exactly the vibe I got from the BOGUS COLLECTIVE.

The BOGUS COLLECTIVE is a group of musicians and artists that release their music through bandcamp.  From time to time they also release their own individually-recorded cassette tape albums. I couldn't help order a split album cassette release "Double Entendre" by TVVIN_PINEZ_M4LL and Air Jordans.  Receiving the hand-made cassettes made me realize that a big part of the experience has been lost with digital over-the-air formats. There was something special about receiving the album and the whole ritual of playing off the tape--I honestly can't remember the last time purchasing music felt this good...

I had the chance to talk to TVVIN_PINEZ_M4LL who is also one of the co-founders of the BOGUS COLLECTIVE and learned a few things (excuse the typos):

TVVIN_PINEZ_M4LL recently released Shorai G Fanku 2 on tape, which ships with his previous 2015 release on side B. If you want to experience what vaporwave is in 2016, check out the growing BOGUS COLLECTIVE, which now includes international artists with plenty of material yet-to-be-released and don't forget to support independent artist!

https://boguscollective.bandcamp.com/