Hot Takes

Roge Corp finally had his moment with us on the show for "Hot Takes" episode 94! Roge Corp, scene builder, community organizer, and show thrower, had his two hours of fame on "Hot Takes" with Luxury Elite and YUNG SHIRO 白, plying the duo with musings, best practices, and blazing hot opinions. Roge Corp is one of the best known and most loved curators in the scene, acting as leader of the isles of Eternal Chill, one half of VaporVA with V4NGOE, and member of the Arpwire TV team, as well as a member of our own mod team. We got to hear all about the makings of VaporVA, i2K, and i2K2 during our episode with Roge Corp. Roge told us all about his love of mac and cheese and opined about restaurants that he felt handled the dish well and of course venues that failed at it. Check out the episode for a deep dive into Roge Corp's nostalgic journey through 2000's video games and hard rock/nu metal bands at the very least. Don't miss this very special entry in the "Hot Takes" pantheon!

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Roge Corp, YUNG SHIRO 白, and highly coveted special guest Brothertiger starred in the latest "Hot Takes" episode! A heavyweight composer and live performer from the early 2010 chillwave days, Brothertiger has continued to develop his sound and brand, playing shows for thousands, releasing seminal albums and EP's, and collaborating with numerous other skilled artists, including Fire-Toolz, Hotel Pools, and Underoath. Two hours of broadcasting time was nowhere near enough to get to know John, but we did get to cover topics like post-rock shows, the importance of song titles, and the adorable story behind his track "Mainsail"! You heard it on "Hot Takes", the vaporwave talk show!

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For this installment of the show, we broadcasted with Tom Vernon! A lo-fi house artist that both Luxury Noise and YUNG SHIRO 白 have loved for years, Tom's humble, friendly affect and willingness to share his thoughts made him a perfect guest for "Hot Takes"; and we excitedly picked his brain about topics like hardware vs. software in production, binging artists' discographies, and Octopath Traveler. Starting his outsider house production while still in high school, Tom Vernon has since become a prominent name in the scene, releasing on reputable labels like Shall Not Fade, regularly appearing on lo-fi house Youtube mixes and Spotify playlists, and even playing live shows for crowds in VR chat. As an artist that Luxury Noise and Shiro both treasure, the time we got to spend with Tom Vernon went by rapidly, and we made the most of our time with him as we could! We held all chat submitted questions until the final half-hour of the episode runtime, discussing all manner of things, such as early 2010's deep house, field recordings in Japan, and staying alive while the music industry burns down. Tom gave us the 411 on his perfect show line-up, bad lo-fi house tropes, and In-N-Out Burger. Don't miss conversations about "rally house" music, echo and reverb in electronic music, and producing with all free plug-ins. If you weren't there for our visit with left field house producer Tom Vernon live, give it a listen, and be sure to join the public community Discord server and check out the latest Spotify playlists as well!

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On "Hot Takes" this week, Shiro and Crystal found a way to get yet another seminal outrun synthwave act on the show for an evening of chatting! A prominent member of the early 2010's synthwave movement, Botnit released a series of albums and singles during that exciting and explosive era of independent net-based retro electronic music. We are always trying our best to bring on acts and artists from vaporwave-adjacent scenes like the outrun synthwave scene, and because Jim and Shiro go way back, it only made sense to try to tag him in for an episode! A composer of some of the most emotionally charged melodies from the 2010's retro electronic music movement, Jim pulled back the curtain and gave us some insider info about his usage of spoken words clips in his tracks. He told us all about his love of 2000's breaks, gave us the rundown on producing with Reason, and put us on some of his favorite current vaporwave acts, like Dusqk and Webinar. During the two hour episode, we talked at great length about the Tetris CD-i soundtrack, and he gave some sound advice to the viewers about how much work it takes to make one solid, memorable track. Botnit and Shiro bonded over their shared love of British maximalist artist Bobby Tank, he regaled us with the story of being contacted by FM-84 for a very special edit of a track for a Ready Player One staff party that Stephen Spielberg attended, and he told us all about his love of Ice Cube, NWA, and Public Enemy in high school. Check out the replay of our night with Botnit if you couldn't be there for the live broadcast!

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For "Hot Takes" episode ninety, YUNG SHIRO 白 partnered with brand new co-host Shortstuf888 to bring on friend of the show and chiptune artist Smoothbrain, discussing all manner of topics during the evening, such as being vulnerable as an artist and producing tracks in Mario Paint. Aside from his Doctor Robotnik-esque look, Smoothbrain is known for traveling far and wide to support live vapor and for his recent tour in Japan with Sage Hardware. He also performed at MAGfest earlier this year and recently released a collection of chiptune tracks that he purportedly labored over for years before its release. Give the episode a watch for highlights like conversations about Christmas music and the origin of the Smoothbrain pseudonym; and don't miss Smoothie's eloquent thoughts on genres and painting oneself into a corner as an artist!

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During this talk show episode, Frez Wave was our featured guest! Known primarily for their groggy, bitcrushed take on vaporwave and lo-fi house, Frez Wave was Roge Corp's number one pick for potential guests, and we had a delightful time joking around about gen Z brainrot and getting put on countless artists that inspire Frez Wave's style. Since having gotten involved with music production and the vaporwave scene five years ago, Frez Wave has released several albums, many via reputable labels such as Business Casual and 18 Carat Affair's own label Fiat LX. A true connoisseur of sound textures and effects with a hilarious sense of humor to boot, uncovering as much information about Frez and his thoughts was a joyous journey! We covered a lot of topics during our two hour stint together, including but not limited to experiences with 18 Carat Affair, describing one's music to someone on a date, and trickshotting on Call of Duty. Frez gave us the scoop on discovering vaporwave via Bronze56K and their production process with Garageband on their phone, and a small debate broke out over the work of Blank Banshee. Don't miss out on Roge Corp saying "Prefat Spout" instead of Prefab Sprout or Shiro's rant about Death's Dynamic Shroud's methods of sampling vocals. Be sure to follow us on social media and join the public community Discord server if you couldn't make it the live broadcast!

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On "Hot Takes" episode 88 this week, Quiz and Shiro tagged Agnar in for the show at the eleventh hour! Eccentric, well-spoken, and making waves with their unique spin on experimental IDM music, Agnar was just a natural pick for the show; and picking them paid off in dividends as we were entertained by their thoughts on the similarities between vaporwave and prog rock, "new internet" music, and making cool things on the computer. Agnar has been producing leftfield and vaporwave-adjacent music for a while now, releasing on various labels like First Class Collective and playing live at events like Nostalgia Lounge's Sanctuary Live. They even got a write up in their local Billings, Montana paper about "challenging the concept that music needs to be correct". Known for their inclusivity, open-mindedness, and experimental nature, how could we not bring a person like Agnar on "Hot Takes"? We spent two hours chatting about topics ranging from microgenres like deconstructed club music and hyperpop, sampling AI music, and the deep meaning behind their album 4:3. Quiz taught us the concept of Lane Behr, Agnar recommended a favorite IDM documentary called "Modulations: Cinema of the Ear", and Shiro extolled his favorite video game OST's. Won't you give our episode with Agnar a listen if you weren't able to be there for it live?

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This week on the "Hot Takes" vaporwave talk show, longtime podcast hosts Birk and Ross from Night Clerk Radio decided to do a crossover episode with us! Hosting two guests instead of just the typical one, we got to hear a myriad of thoughts and opinions on topics from them, ranging from liminal spaces and the backrooms, staying apprised of current outsider music and music history, and their commitment to watching awful films. With backgrounds in film and podcasting, Birk and Ross have a daunting degree of knowledge of art, film, and music between the two of them, and Ross evens runs an award-winning tabletop role-playing game podcast as well! Their production value is off the charts, they are both juggernauts of pop culture, and they both have a deep love of unintentionally bad art. During the evening that we spent with the boys from Night Clerk Radio, we talked about how to brainstorm content for an online talk show, over-categorization and granular niche genres, and decorum when throwing a live vaporwave show. Come for the shared love of Boards of Canada, and stay for the conversations about the best and worst tropes in horror cinema. What is the Long John Silver fuck tub? You're only going to find out if you watch the episode!

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On "Hot Takes" this week, we got Skylar Spence to come on the show! Arguably the most seminal artist that gave future funk its voice, Ryan regaled us with thoughts and tales during their episode about topics like Mac Tonight ads, Arrested Development, and their experience getting signed to Carpark Records. Having started with vaporwave and future funk in late 2012, Skylar Spence has not only released numerous albums within that genre as Saint Pepsi but is also known for their critically acclaimed indie pop releases as well. Not only has Ryan captivated the vaporwave scene, but he very literally defined what future funk is with his work as Saint Pepsi and pushed the boundaries with lauded singles and packed out high capacity venues as Skylar Spence. His album "Hit Vibes" is considered by many to not just be an iconic vaporwave album but to often be the literal archetype of future funk. During our visit with Skylar Spence, we discussed the importance of SPF420 to the independent net-based electronic music scene, we geeked out over chillwave acts like Star Slinger and Toro y Moi, and we got to hear some of the lore behind who the character of Saint Pepsi is supposed to be and the concepts behind various Saint Pepsi albums. It's "Hot Takes", so you know it's rough around the edges but made with love. Stream episode 86 if you want to hear Luxury Elite reminisce about the early vaporwave days. Shiro mused about how different his experience with vaporwave was from Lux and Skylar Spence's, and Ryan humored us with his explanation of his love for a memetic Youtube video of the Dave Matthews Band scat singing. Episode 86 of "Hot Takes" is not one you'll want to miss!

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On "Hot Takes" this week, Crystal Eternal and YUNG SHIRO 白 had a sit-down with influential artist, label owner, and scene builder Brickmason! Friendly, inviting, and bursting with well-tempered takes, we invited Brick to the show to get behind the curtain of not only his own project but his record label and IRL and URL show throwing experiences. Brickmason has been making music far longer than he cares to admit and has enjoyed a noteworthy degree of acclaim for his three part 2023 vaporwave album series "Pokédreams". Not only did he corner the hushwave subset of the vaporwave scene, but his label Hushtones has released several must-hear barber beats, slushwave, vaporbreaks, and vaportrap releases as well. For episode eighty-five, we discussed the working class background behind Brickmason's project name. Brick imparted his thoughts on releasing art by questionable artists, working with visualists like Solodolo84 and the whole WVSQD team, and acts that he likes a lot, like Bentoboy, Mabisyo, and Victory Over Death. Hearing Brickmason tell the stories behind the Beats for a Broken World livestream event with Cassette Cache and Doki Doki Beats was a highlight! Sharing our love of his recent hard copy VHS release of Dreamcastle's "LEGO Castle: 1979-1998" and hearing the story of seeing the album release live was a meaningful moment that also was not to be missed. Don't miss this fun and family-friendly episode with our friend Brickmason!

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