Windows 98の – これは魂のために

Recommendation: ☀☀☁


これは魂のために1 is the second full-length by Orlando, Florida vaportrap artist Windows 98の, released in January 2015 only three weeks after ブルースクリーン (BLUE SCREEN 001). In contrast to the ecstasy of the インターネット EP, これは魂のために shows Windows 98の’s gentler and somewhat more experimental side, including the introduction of the crystal-clear production style that has become his trademark.

The album opens up with “恋をする”, a saxophone/keyboard-led track that’s reminiscent of the trip-hop of Ulver’s Perdition City and the chillwave of Vektroid’s Color Ocean Road. As far as vaportrap goes, it’s about as strong of an introduction as “Wavestep” by Blank Banshee, and nearly as demonstrative of the times.2 In the beginning of 2015, vaporwave underwent a sea change from the mostly samplism-based consumerist and late night lo-fi aesthetic of 2013/2014 to the overtly future-minded cyberpunk and compositions that emphasized original material that characterized 2015/2016. “恋をする” plays with that mindset quite a bit; it’s an “atmospheric” (a hard word not to abuse) track that constructs quite a soundscape among the stuttering hi-hats that characterizes trap music. “キャバ嬢” continues the same theme, but with more of a hip-hop feel with fewer hi-hats and a stronger keyboard presence.

Bass takes center-stage in “スレノディ 建物が落ちる”, which features the repetitive CD-skip glitching found in other Windows 98の albums such as NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL… and 空港のための音楽 MUSIC FOR AIRPORTS. “パンドラの箱” features a theremin that sounds straight out of some cheesy 60s B-movie. It ends in a sample of the Cisco hold music composed by Tim Carleton and Darrick Deel – also sampled by ECO VIRTUAL on “Noctilucent” and How to Dress Well on “Precious Love” – that then leads into “夢”, the trappiest song on the album. Finishing up is “これは魂のために”, an eighteen-minute drone track that’s closer to what was on ブルースクリーン (BLUE SCREEN 001).

これは魂のために is an excellent album, both as an example of vaportrap and of Windows 98の large and varied discography. Give it a listen.

 

Tracklist


1. 恋をする – (6:17)3
2. キャバ嬢 – (4:49)4
3. スレノディ 建物が落ちる – (6:50)5
4. パンドラの箱 – (5:41)6
5. 夢 – (5:46)7
6. これは魂のために – (18:25)8


 

1Japanese translation: “This is for the soul”
2… I say as if these album’s weren’t released within three years of each other.
3Japanese translation: “Love in love”
4Japanese translation: “Miss Caba”
5Japanese translation: “Threnody to a falling building”
6Japanese translation: “Pandora’s Box”
7Japanese translation: “Dream
8Japanese translation: “This is for the soul”

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