Night Clerk Radio: Haunted Music Reviews

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In this episode, we’re digging into the music of Eighth Tower Records, a record label that focuses on “dark music and fiction.” We selected albums that were inspired by influential horror artists, Zdzisław Beksiński and Lucio Fulci. While they worked with very different mediums their art shares a similar abstract nightmare aesthetic and pessimistic worldview. Consequently, the albums inspired by their work are equally haunting and evocative.

Decay, Death and Darkness - Aural visions of Beksi​ń​ski's art by Various Artists
The Beyond - Music Inspired By The Lucio Fulci Death Trilogy by Various Artists

Eighth Tower Records on Bandcamp
Zdzisław Beksiński | Artnet

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
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We’ve often lamented that it can be difficult to keep up with everything happening in a scene, especially one that is as actively evolving as vaporwave. Thankfully, Halcyon Tapes just released their “Vaporwave Up & Comers 2023” compilation. We spend this episode working through all ninety minutes of this jam-packed album featuring dozens of amazing artists. Grab yourself a copy of the album and join us for a listen.

Vaporwave Up & Comers 2023 by Various

signalcon 2023 (day 1) on 直子coed’s YouTube
signalcon 2023 (day 2) on 直子coed’s YouTube

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter

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In this episode, we’re exploring the world of Folktronica, a genre that unsurprisingly features traditional folk instrumentation set against the rhythms and timbre of synth-driven electronica. To top it all off, it’s a genre that we know nothing about! So join us as we dig into two amazing albums and try to educate ourselves on this elusive and eclectic genre.

EARS by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
The Hill, The Light, The Ghost by Haiku Salut

Folktronica Past, Present, and Future by Joe Muggs

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter

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The K-Mart tapes are a collection of 56 cassette tapes that were used to provide in-store music and announcements in the late 80s and early 90s. They were kept and archived by K-Mart employee Mark Davis who uploaded them to archive.org in 2015. These tapes provided a treasure trove of muzak and corporate samples for plunderphonics artists to dig into. In this episode, we talk about the K-Mart tapes, the importance of plunderphonics, and highlight two classic albums based on samples from the tapes.

Kmart 1989​-​1992 (The Definitive Edition) by PowerPCME
Attention Kmart Choppers by Juicy the Emissary

Attention K-Mart Shoppers
Kmart Store Background Music & Announcement Cassettes
The Official Seeburg 1000 Site

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter

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Summertime is for summer jams, so in this episode we’re checking out two recent albums from podcast favorites luxury elite and Limousine. Both albums, while being very different stylistically, capture particular emotional resonances that we both strongly associate with the summer experience. Join us in checking out these albums. We hope they land as strongly with you as they did with us.

fashion pop by luxury elite
Dusty Roads by Limousine

Bandcamp Post: The Discovery of Limousine’s Treasure

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter

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In this episode, we’re revisiting Signalwave, one of our favorite subgenres of haunted music. Specifically, we’re discussing the evolution of the genre as more new releases focus on the music and media of the late-90s/early-00s. Join us as we compare an absolute classic 2017 album to an equally excellent 2023 release and discuss their evolving aesthetics.

Ｖ​Ｈ​Ｓ Ｓ​ｔ​ａ​ｒ​ｄ​ｕ​ｓ​ｔ by Ｓｐｏｒｔ３０００
WebTV Viewer by International Telecom

Night Clerk Radio Ep. 48: Signalwave

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter

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Virtual reality, despite its recent success, has been a perennial retro technology for the majority of our lives. It represents a technological future that may never arrive and a past that never really happened. The hauntological nature of virtual reality makes it a perfect companion to vaporwave! In this episode, we explore this connection and discuss work by artists who are merging virtual reality and vaporwave.

Hyperdrive from Memento by Eagle Eyed Tiger

Live and In Pixel: Vaporwave’s Push For a Virtual Music Scene

George Clanton on vaporwave, VR festivals and fostering democratic music culture

Adam Kane - Show N Tell (Official Music Video) [VR 360°]

Virtual Utopia 4 [Live 360° VR Concert]

Our Favourite 360˚ VR Music Videos (2021)

VR Gartner hype cycle: Is virtual reality hype or hope?

VOICES FROM A VIRTUAL PAST

Music by: 2Mello    

Artwork by: Patsy McDowell    

Ross on Twitter  

Birk on Twitter  

Night Clerk Radio on Twitter

The Music of Terror Vision

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The folks at Terror Vision, a boutique shop focused on preserving obscure genre films, recently released Copperhead, an early direct-to-video film made by Ross’s parents, on blu-ray. This release includes a restored version of the original soundtrack on LP and Cassette. To celebrate, we’re discussing the music of Copperhead and Neon Maniacs, another recent soundtrack released by Terror Vision.

Terror Vision Records & Video
Copperhead on Blu-ray with Slip

Copperhead OST LP
Copperhead OST Cassette
Neon Maniacs OST LP
Neon Maniacs OST Cassette

Interview: Ryan Graveface on the Labor of Labels from New Noise Magazine

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter

Architectural Horror and Vaporwave

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In this episode, we delve into the topic of architectural horror and its connection to vaporwave and other genres of haunted music. We explore the shared themes of disorientation, nostalgia, and the uncanny in both genres, uncovering the ways in which they use visual language, liminal spaces, and atmosphere to evoke powerful emotions and discussions about consumer culture, capitalism, technology, urban decay, and the complex interplay between our environments, our memories, and our psychological states.

核雪 by CT57

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter

Spring 2023 Discord Recommendations

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It’s that time of year again. It’s our biannual Discord extravaganza. We selected almost 20 pieces of music recommended by our patrons on the Night Clerk Radio Discord over the past few months and spent this episode going over them. We cover everything from vaporwave to jazz rock to black metal covers, so join us and check out a variety of great music!

Neon Godsby Failed State Audio
illegal scam hold music by The Yonko LLC
Pisces, 3rd Decan: Introduction (Movements 121, 122) | Zodiac Cycle | art and music by The Yonko LLC
ｓ​ｐ​ａ​ｃ​ｅ​ｗ​ａ​ｖ​ｅ by Kratzwerk
Ｔ​ｈ​ｅ​　​Ｐ​ｌ​ａ​ｙ​ｇ​ｒ​ｏ​ｕ​ｎ​ｄ by CT57
River Of Dreams by Romance & Dean Hurley
H​ä​xan - Selected Works by Dagerlöff and Galner
Sow Your Gold In The White Foliated Earth by Deathprod
Nicolas Jaar - Essential Mix - 19-05-2012
Vital by BIG|BRAVE
Black Renditions by Spider God
Co)))ltrane
The Comet Is Coming: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
V by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Held Together by Aberdeen
ABSOLUT MAYHEM by UNWIND
Instupendo - Six Forty Seven
CONTACT by Datapoint
Visions and Prophetic Dreams, Vol. 2: A Vangelis Tribute by Various Artists

DEATHPROD Sow Your Gold In The White Foliated Earth Additional Info

Music by: 2Mello
Artwork by: Patsy McDowell
Ross on Twitter
Birk on Twitter
Night Clerk Radio on Twitter