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| ▣世界から解放され▣ |
At least in my opinion, INTERNET CLUB is part of the original Vaporwave 'wonder-trio' alongside Infinity Frequencies and 骨架的 (Skeleton). The music these three have made since the early 2010s perfectly encapsulates the very best Vaporwave has to give while also not leading the listener on too much, like some later and current albums do. While extremely avant-garde and tense, some of INTERNET CLUB's work is seminal in putting together the puzzle of the most recent music medium: the internet. As a note, there won't be a chronological structure to these. The manner in which they're presented doesn't ask for one, either way. These are just chunks of data lost to time, waiting for someone to pick them up and appreciate them.
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| WEBINAR |
The extremely emotional 'VANISHING VISION', an album which you probably first clicked on while drifting the YouTube recommended tab, is still what many consider to be the single most solid piece of work by the artist. The first track 'BY DESIGN' is blissfully nostalgic and relaxing, surely asking you to play it for several hours while you cry about your life's mistakes in the corner of your room (Or not...). The sample work on the rest of the album is phenomenal and definitely deserves your attention even if you aren't interested in experimental music.
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| VANISHING VISION |
The bar is lowered with 'UNDERWATER MIRAGE', which while preferred by many, alludes to the generic vaporwave sound that would come in the future while leaving behind lots of the smart in-your-face sampling of 'VANISHING VISION' and airy selection of 'WEBINAR'. There are some underwater and tropical island themes running here, though I don't think they were successful. But not to be worried, these will make several comebacks. Not on this next one though. 'THE SHARPER IMAGE' is an ode to videogames, sporting a cover alluding to the Gamecube starting screen. It remains one of the less talked about albums from INTERNET CLUB, at least to my knowledge. While the sampling selection has gotten better since the last project, it's still nowhere near some of the masterpieces on the discography.
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| REDEFINING THE WORKSPACE |
Finally getting back to the brilliance of the debut, 'WEBINAR', 'REDEFINING THE WORKPLACE' expands upon the themes of corporatism in an even better way, with a much lusher and droning sound palette which brings the intent of the album right out at the listener's face and forces them to go into a meditative state about their life, their future, and gives them overall tips and tricks in the web marketing field, telling them to utilize their impact. Whatever that is.
While the previous album felt like a continuation of a vision already explored by the artist, 'PURE TRANCE' feels like a complete reimagination of what 'VANISHING VISION' achieved, a completely different take on the bustling night scene within a busy non-descript Asian city. Though with this collection of tracks the pastiche element of it all has been augmented, making it interesting to listen from time to time, only that. 'NEW MILLENIUM CONCEPTS' is an album, I guess. I never felt compelled to listen to it much. It feels directionless and, quite honestly, pointless. Not much to be said other than its apparent tribute to early 2000s culture.
With a cover for each individual track, 'MODERN BUSINESS COLLECTION' feels like a pure collection of these - which is a bad sign as INTERNET CLUB usually works the best when albums are attributed concrete moods or even 'vibes' (as some would call them...). There's a clear distinction between a piece of music that builds off of its lo-fi nature and a lo-fi piece of music that exists purely dependent on that sole fact. 'FINAL TEARS' is well-produced and quite interesting, even though the concept of the album is quite shrouded. Japanese culture in all of its forms seems to dominate the stage here, with some well-executed sample cuts to go along with it.
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| DREAMS 3D |
A triumphant masterpiece, 'DREAMS 3D' is one of the quintessential Vaporwave albums along with the other three which appear pictured on this Deep Dive. Brooding, haunting, it shares similarities with 'VANISHING VISION', but doesn't let the nostalgic feelings go as easily. It would be pointless to sit here and try to explain the album to you, as the magic inherent in this discography comes with each person's discovery of the albums' concepts. Regardless of that, the tracklist here is absolutely stellar, truly deserving of a spot among the best.
Extremely lo-fi in nature, 'DELUXE' manages to hold its ground for what it is: an extremely short album. Not essential listening by any means, but not boring. 'BEYOND THE ZONE' comes after this, with a surprisingly good overall feel to it. In some ways, it succeeds in doing what 'UNDERWATER MIRAGE' failed to do, this time with much more enjoyable samples and editing. Yet another class album from INTERNET CLUB.
Recently, after the appearance of INTERNET CLUB on 100% ElectroniCon 2 in Los Angeles, a new album appeared intitled 'SOUND CANVAS'. This was quite pointless in my opinion, as the project had already died an honourable death with some amazing music under its belt. While it doesn't add much, it also doesn't detract from the listening experience of the rest of the discography.
Lots of singles, miscellaneous albums and knickknacks were missed, most notably the famous 'Urap' album (▣世界から解放され▣ by ░▒▓新しいデラックスライフ▓▒░). This was meant to be a simplification of the achievements of this musical project through my lens, so feel free to listen (or re-listen) to these albums and form your own opinion, since that's truly what makes or breaks them alongside other established classics. Weird and marvellous, INTERNET CLUB is one of the most marking and unique musical projects out there to this day.
-Holo
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