BALENTSバランス – HUMAN MUSIC脂肪豚

Recommendation: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


HUMAN MUSIC脂肪豚1 is the first proper album by BALENTSバランス,2 a producer who later went on to found the Beer Wizard record label. Produced in a span of 24 hours,3 HUMAN MUSIC脂肪豚 mostly consists of samples from old video game soundtrack.4 Each song is heavily reverbed and resampled, with a murky aesthetic that sounds like as if a tape were played so much that it’s starting to run out. It’s a popular production style in vaporwave that – combined with early digital age music and sound effects – contributes directly to the dated style that is synonymous with the genre.

Most of the album is sample curation with minimal processing outside of classic-style vaporwave traits, but there some exceptions. “�830ダンス,” has a fantastic progressive distortion effect that recalls some of the better chopped-and-screwed samplism within the ECCOJAMS subgenre; is that my computer glitching out? Either way, it’s a nice touch for the best song on the album. “最初の蒸気波[NEVER]” is straight Skeleton-esque – a nice dark touch. Although obviously just a slowed-down sample and little more, “『₧d王国』” demonstrates that perfect zone pioneered by Macintosh Plus where careful (and minimal) effects can lead the listener into a sonic uncanny valley.

Although cliché, HUMAN MUSIC脂肪豚 is decent, and the aforementioned cuts will make good additions to one’s playlists.

 

Tracklist


1. HUMAN MUSIC導入の導入のintro – (0:43)5
2. CLOSER私に – (1:58)6
3. �830ダンス, – (1:48)7
4. 最初の蒸気波[NEVER] – (2:25)8
5. DONT今までにLEAVEお願いします – (1:26)9
6. WITHOUTYOU – (3:50)
7. 『₧d王国』 – (2:09)11
8. COOL IT – (2:27)
9. 常にON MY MIND胸三寸 – (1:44)12
10. OUTROアルバムの最後の曲 – (1:17)13


 

1Japanese translation: “fat pig”
2Japanese translation: “balance”
3… which brings up an interesting thought: is it “good” to advertise an album like that? Is it demonstrating acumen, as in: “hey, I made this release in only 24 hours – wow!” or is more of a memey: “I made this in only 24 hours but you’re gonna check it out anyway.” Vaporwave, like bedroom pop, has an extremely interesting relationship with the concept of authenticity in context of amateurishness.
4Balents. “Free Download~~HUMAN MUSIC [V A P O R W A V E]]] ~.” DeviantArt. Accessed June 04, 2016. http://balents.deviantart.com/art/Free-download-HUMAN-MUSIC-V-A-P-O-R-W-A-V-E-510538017.
5Japanese translation: “The introduction of”
6Japanese translation: “to me”
7Japanese translation: “Dance”
8Japanese translation: “The first steam wave”
9Japanese translation (including English): “Do not ever leave, thank you”10
10I think?
11Japanese translation: “Kingdom”
12Japanese translation (including English): “Always on my mind/heart”
13Japanese translation: “The last song of the album”14
14Straightforward. I like it.

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