A l i c e // MIMA! / RAIDENメガドライブ海 – Blue Sunrise

Recommendation: ☀☁☁

Blue Sunrise is a one-off split from 2015 between pseudonymous projects A l i c e // MIMA! and RAIDENメガドライブ海.¹ A l i c e // MIMA! is a pseudonym of Australian artist m a l i b l u e :(, while RAIDENメガドライブ海 had released several albums in 2015 before this split. Both artists offer up six tracks, with A l i c e // MIMA! on side A and RAIDENメガドライブ海 on side B. The release is currently available as a digital download through French label Elemental 95.

The A l i c e // MIMA! side opens with a five-minute hypnagogic dirge that features spoken word describing the complexities of the human experience and how the speaker wishes the world to be seen. From there, it launches into classic-style vaporwave filled with reverb, pitch-/tempo-shifting, and CD-skipping edits of extant pop and adult contemporary. Multiple samples are laid over one another with different looping points, as with Vitamin.D on March 2017’s ＰＯＷＥＲＢＯＯＫ ＯＮＥ ＦＩＦＴＹ. “Neon Tetras” features stilted percussion with unintelligible pitch-shifted vocals and a sped-up melody that has a vaguely aquatic or oriental sound. “Folie à Deux” and “Away” are both lo-fi slushwave/hypnagogic drift. “Alone but Content” completes the side by spinning similar to “It’s Kinda Complex” but minus the spoken word portions and with an oriental melody.

In sharp contrast to the A l i c e // MIMA! side, the RAIDENメガドライブ海 section is heavily informed by ambient vaporwave. It begins with a short, quiet instrumental section of dark ambient with a male voiceover toward the end of the track. “Hauyne” and “The Time of Darkness” continue the beatless trend; the latter track is made of extremely degraded and time-stretched samples, giving the impression that it’s a lo-fi synth track. “No Space” and “Water” tread into vaporgoth territory, with even more lo-fi textures than “The Time of Darkness”. Final track “Outro/Forgiveness” is a minute and a half time-stretched sample of “Intro” by The xx from their debut release xx.

The A l i c e // MIMA! side is generally the stronger one due to sheer diversity, with slushwave, hypnagogic drift, and classic-style vaporwave all drowning out the comparatively one-note RAIDENメガドライブ海 side. They’re both quite worth putting on though, and in forty-four minutes there’s a lot going on. If you are into the classic-style and hypnagogic drift music often released by Elemental 95, then this will likely be a good addition to your collection.

Tracklist

1. A l i c e // MIMA!: It’s Kinda Complex – (5:38)
2. A l i c e // MIMA!: Sludge – (1:31)
3. A l i c e // MIMA!: Neon Tetras – (4:35)
4. A l i c e // MIMA!: Folie à Deux – (2:03)
5. A l i c e // MIMA!: Away – (2:01)
6. A l i c e // MIMA!: Alone but Content – (4:19)
7. RAIDENメガドライブ海: Midnight Blue – (1:48)
8. RAIDENメガドライブ海: Hauyne – (5:50)
9. RAIDENメガドライブ海: The Time of Darkness – (5:13)
10. RAIDENメガドライブ海: No Space – (4:49)
11. RAIDENメガドライブ海: Water – (5:30)
12. RAIDENメガドライブ海: Outro/Forgiveness – (1:21)

¹Japanese translation: “(RAIDEN) Mega Drive Sea”