US Golf 95 – US Golf 95
Recommendation: ☀☀☁
[Originally posted to the SongSavers music blog on 29 September 2015.]
US Golf 95 is the soundtrack by which to play a copy of the Windows ’95 Best of Microsoft Entertainment pack in the wee hours of the night with no light but the background illumination of the computer screen and no noise but the “ping” of a Jezzball hitting a wall as crickets chirp in the background.1 This short release – the debut non-mixtape of the eponymous Glaswegian artist – is a minimalist’s appreciation of Japanese 16-bit gaming culture. Tracks are scarce in sound, employing little more than airy keyboard and sparse MIDI drums with a sprinkling of insect chatter. “Start Screen” utilizes a chiptune melody, and ” それはラフでです！” incorporates a little ditty of a bassline. The credits roll upon the seven-minute closer “マイクロソフト MS GOLF-PUB 95,” a discreet end to a nostalgic rather than ironic vaporwave release.
Tracklist
1. US Open – (2:59)
2. Start Screen – (2:21)
3. ティーオフします2 – (1:54)
4. それはラフでです！3– (3:44)
5. Ian Woosnam – (1:32)
6. -Pause Menu- – (2:46)
7. できたね！4 (Hole in One) – (0:12)
8. マイクロソフト5 MS GOLF-PUB 95 – (6:57)
1Remember to hold “F” to escape the SkiFree monster.
2Japanese translation: “Tee off”
3Japanese translation: “In the rough!” or “[The ball] hits the rough!”
4Japanese translation: “I did it!”
5Japanese translation: “Microsoft”