TASPO – SIMULATION // SIM.BETA

Recommendation: ☀☀☁


SIMULATION // SIM.BETA is a compilation album by TASPO. The first twelve tracks are taken from the SIMULATION full-length and the rest are from the soundtrack to the SIM.BETA mobile app – which, in and of itself, is a pretty cool deal. This album is downtempo vaportrap, utilizing a variety of pure ambient sounds juxtaposed against the characteristic hi-hat/tenor polyrhythmic percussion of trap music. In contrast to artists such as Blank Banshee, SIMULATION // SIM.BETA does not utilize samples that are recognizable as samples (except for some vocal exclamations); there’s no “Purity Boys” here, that’s for sure. Instead, it’s all brief fun that melds together for a listening experience that’s suitable for activity or for headspace, with a few nods to classic-style vaporwave in presentation and occasional Windows jingle.

The beat-driven tracks are often punctuated by pastoral ambient interludes (e.g. from “::Silicon Paradise::” to “人工的なBirth.cdi”), which adds exceptional variety and rewards full-album listens. The same trill and finger-snap sounds become monotonous around track nine and annoying by track sixteen, so TASPO was wise to place little breather episodes in between the harder songs. The melodies themselves are vivid and gorgeous; they would’ve done well on their own (e.g. “Data Crossing”), but TASPO’s additional flourishes act as welcome sparks and flashes. The production isn’t too different between the two sides, so there will be no interruptions to one’s listening experience.1 Tracks are completely clean-sounding, with little-to-none extraordinary reverb, fuzz, or other lo-fi practices; giving SIMULATION // SIM.BEAT an immaculate – but not sterile – texture.

Have a listen for a slick, modern-feeling take on vaportrap.

 

Tracklist


1. Generating Hologram – (0:30)
2. a/path/to/GhostDisc.dmg – (1:34)
3. GEODESIC//HOME – (1:21)
4. ColorimetricAnalysis.zip – (2:12)
5. ::Silicon Paradise:: – (1:41)
6. 人工的なBirth.cdi – (0:46)2
7. //MOTHER// – (3:40)
8. ムーン点灯楽園.iso – (1:00)3
9. White Cube Room – (2:10)
10. DataCrossing – (2:40)
11. VoodooSimulator – V2Px.exe – (2:42)
12. SILICON UNIVERSE ✔ – (2:24)
13. 自殺 – (1:50)4
14. Sushi Drive Thru – (0:36)
15. _ Nano.Jungle _ – (3:23)
16. Valuable Plastic – (3:51)
17. Energy Cycles – (1:55)
18. Tobacco Serenade – (3:32)
19. ____ 母親 ____ – (3:16) 5 6
20. HotSpring 2.0 – (2:10)
21. ザ ไม่มีน้ำหนัก 순간 между 最初 ที่สอง 和 второй ที่สอง – (2:20)7


 

1I found the SIMULATION side to be slightly stronger, but it’ll be entirely up to the listener as to which (if any) is preferred.
2Japanese translation: “Artificialbirth.cdi”
3Japanese translation: “Moonlitparadise.iso”
4Japanese translation: “Suicide”
5Japanese translation: “Mother”
6This is an alternate version of “//MOTHER//”
7Japanese/Thai/Korean/Russian/Chinese translation: The weightless moment between the first second and the second second.

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